Although the British aircraft carrier does not carry the same firepower as U.S. supercarriers, it is still a formidable foe.
One of the Royal Navy’s two aircraft carriers has embarked on an eight-month global deployment that will take it to some of the world’s most significant hotspots.
How the HMS Prince of Wales performs against near-peer and non-state threats will say a lot about the current naval capabilities of America’s closest ally.
HMS Prince of Wales Is Heading to the World’s Hotspots
Overall, the U.K. Carrier Strike Group is composed of over 4,500 sailors, airmen, soldiers, and Royal Marines. In addition to the HMS Prince of Wales herself, the carrier strike group contains the Type 45 destroyer HMS Dauntless, the Type 23 frigate HMS Richmond, an Astute-class submarine, and the RFA Tideforce and RFA Tidespring support vessels.
“Between now and December, the Carrier Strike Group will conduct a series of exercises and operations with air, sea and land forces of a dozen allies in the Mediterranean, Middle East, Southeast Asia, Japan and Australia,” the Royal Navy stated about the HMS Prince of Wales’ global deployment.
In addition, the British aircraft carrier will benefit from the protection and support of allied vessels along the way. For example, as the aircraft carrier and its support vessels neared the Mediterranean Sea, the Spanish frigate Méndez Núñez and Norwegian support ships HNoMS Maud and HNoMS Roald Amundsen, joined the carrier battle group.
According to the Royal Navy, the main goal behind the Prince of Wales’ global deployment is to reaffirm Britain’s security commitments in strategically important regions of the world, including the Mediterranean, Red Sea, and the Indo-Pacific.
The British Carrier Strike Group set sail in the final days of April, and is not expected to return to British waters until the end of the year.
This is the second such deployment for the Royal Navy’s revived aircraft carrier fleet. In 2021, the HMS Queen Elizabeth led the first global aircraft carrier deployment for the United Kingdom after many years of relative isolation.
The Royal Navy has two aircraft carriers: the HMS Queen Elizabeth and the HMS Prince of Wales. Both are brand-new warships, and have regularly experienced some of the normal “childhood maladies” of new weapon systems, necessitating frequent maintenance. It is hoped that these issues will decrease over time.
The Prince of Wales’ Might Comes from Its Air Wing
An aircraft carrier’s main weapon is its aircraft—specifically its fighter wing. And the Prince of Wales packs a punch when it comes to fighter jets and other combat aircraft.
The Royal Navy’s 809 Naval Air Squadron and the Royal Air Force’s 617 Squadron make up the aircraft carrier’s air wing. The two squadrons fly the F-35B Lightning II stealth fighter jet, and the HMS Prince of Wales carries 18 such aircraft. A further six F-35Bs will join the air wing later during the deployment, thus bringing the total number of fighter jets on board the carrier to a full squadron of 24 aircraft.
In addition, the air wing has 16 Wildcat maritime attack and Merlin anti-submarine and airborne surveillance and control helicopters. Finally, it has a handful of Malloy and Puma unmanned aerial systems that can conduct resupply and surveillance.
In short, although the British aircraft carrier does not carry the same firepower as U.S. supercarriers, which can pack as many as 100 combat and support aircraft, it still makes for a formidable foe—and can serve as a powerful force multiplier for the U.S. Navy around the world.
About the Author: Stavros Atlamazoglou
Stavros Atlamazoglou is a seasoned defense journalist specializing in special operations and a Hellenic Army veteran (national service with the 575th Marine Battalion and Army HQ). He holds a BA from the Johns Hopkins University and an MA from the Johns Hopkins’ School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS). His work has been featured in Business Insider, Sandboxx, and SOFREP.
Image: Wikimedia Commons.
