The visit to Tokyo will conclude on September 2, after which the HMS Prince of Wales will begin its long trek home.
The HMS Prince of Wales, the flagship of the British Royal Navy, arrived in the Japanese capital of Tokyo on Thursday, according to a press release. The conventionally-powered aircraft carrier, which is leading the Carrier Strike Group 2025 (CSG25) deployment to the Indo-Pacific as part of the 12-nation international “Operation Highmast,” will be open to public tours while it prepares to host the Pacific Future Forum.
Images of the carrier’s arrival in Tokyo were widely shared on social media.
The HMS Prince of Wales Is Big in Japan
The Prince of Wales’ port call to Tokyo follows its stopover in Yokosuka, home to the United States Seventh Fleet. That included a period of maintenance for the warship, which departed from Portsmouth, England, in April.
“After a brief but busy period of planned maintenance in Yokosuka, it’s a huge privilege to bring the Royal Navy fleet flagship into the centre of Tokyo,” said Captain Will Blackett, Commanding Officer of HMS Prince of Wales. The captain, who had previously overseen joint drills with the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force (JMSDF), praised the Tokyo skyline and described the visit to the city as “really special.”
“Before arriving to Japan, we exercised with the Japanese Maritime Self-Defense Force at sea,” added Blackett. “It has been great to see what we can do together and our commitment to working with our partners in the Indo-Pacific region.”
The Royal Navy Will Show off Its Capabilities in Japan
The visit to Tokyo will conclude on September 2, after which the carrier strike group will begin its long trek home. On its way back to Britain, the Prince of Wales will reunite with the Royal Navy Type 23 frigate HMS Richmond (F239) and the Tide-class replenishment tanker RFA Tidespring (A136), which made a separate port visit to Busan in South Korea.
While in Tokyo, the HMS Prince of Wales will host the Pacific Future Forum, an international conference that will bring together defence, security, and industry leaders to discuss the shared security challenges facing the region and beyond. The warship will hold a “Defence and Security Industry Day that will showcase British defence capabilities and innovation,” the Royal Navy explained.
“We are proud to be taking our air and our naval cooperation now to new levels,” UK Defense Secretary John Healey said during a joint news conference with Japan’s Defense Minister Gen Nakatani.
The Royal Navy Is Still Missing an F-35 Fighter
Not mentioned by the Royal Navy was the state of the F-35B Lightning fighter that was forced to divert to a Japanese commercial airport after experiencing mechanical problems earlier this month. The aircraft was the second of the embarked fifth-generation short takeoff and vertical landing (STOVL) fighters to suffer a mishap during the Operation Highmast deployment.
The F-35B has been grounded at the Kagoshima Airport in south-western Japan since August 10, when it made an emergency landing, briefly shutting down commercial traffic at the airport. That incident followed another F-35B that was forced to divert to the Thiruvananthapuram International Airport in Kerala, India, in June. The first aircraft suffered a hydraulic issue, requiring engineers and equipment to be flown in from the United States and the United Kingdom to repair the advanced flight stealth fighter. The aircraft was ultimately able to return to the carrier in July.
According to recent reports, the Royal Navy is awaiting the arrival of spare parts, which will allow the aircraft to be repaired in Japan. Efforts are being made to ensure the fighter can rejoin the carrier for its journey back to the UK.
The Royal Navy’s other aircraft carrier and former flagship, the HMS Queen Elizabeth, took part in a similar Indo-Pacific deployment in 2021. At that time, it also returned to the British Isles short one F-35B, following a crash in the Mediterranean during the return voyage. One assumes the United Kingdom’s Ministry of Defence would not like to see history repeat itself!
About the Author: Peter Suciu
Peter Suciu has contributed over 3,200 published pieces to more than four dozen magazines and websites over a 30-year career in journalism. He regularly writes about military hardware, firearms history, cybersecurity, politics, and international affairs. Peter is also a contributing writer for Forbes and Clearance Jobs. He is based in Michigan. You can follow him on Twitter: @PeterSuciu. You can email the author: [email protected].
Image: Wikimedia Commons.
