The conventionally-powered aircraft carrier and escorts are expected to stop for additional exercises in India and Italy, before returning to the UK by Christmas.
For the families of the crews of HMS Prince of Wales, the popular saying “Christmas is coming” may take on new meaning this year, as the Royal Navy flagship has arrived in Singapore—and the current timeline has the UK’s aircraft carrier returning home in early December.
The warship reached the small island city-state after transiting through the South China Sea, though it notably avoided sailing through the Taiwan Strait. However, the Type 23 frigate HMS Richmond (F239), joined by the United States Navy’s Arleigh Burke-class guided missile destroyer USS Higgins (DDG-76), did transit the strait earlier in the month. Both naval courses earned the ire of Beijing, which views most of the South China Sea—within the so-called “nine-dash line”—as its sovereign waters. The UK Ministry of Defence and the US Indo-Pacific Command described the passage as routine in nature, and that the warships were carrying out a “routine exercise of the freedom of navigation in accordance with international law.”
The Operation Highmast deployment has seen the international Carrier Strike Group 2025 (CSG 25), comprising warships from the UK, Canada, Spain, the Netherlands, and Norway, participate in joint exercises with vessels from Japan, the United States, Australia, India, and South Korea. HMS Prince of Wales, the flagship of CSG25, departed her home port of Portsmouth, England, in April. In total, she has covered more than 30,000 miles across the Atlantic Ocean, Mediterranean Sea, Indian Ocean, and the Western Pacific.
It is unclear how long the Prince of Wales will remain in Singapore, but the warship had previously spent nearly a week there earlier in the deployment, and will likely continue the long journey back to the UK in the coming days.
Operation Highmast Was an Exercise in Power Projection
Even as Operational Highmast hasn’t been without incident, it was reported that the carrier force will soon reach Full Operational Capability (FOC), which signals that the British carrier and strike group can project power and respond to crises anywhere in the world.
“It is easier said than it is to do,” Royal Navy Commodore James Blackmore told USNI News on Monday.
During the deployment, CSG25 participated in the Australian-led Talisman Sabre exercises and conducted dual-carrier operations with the US Navy’s George Washington carrier strike group in the Timor Sea—as well as operating with the amphibious assault ship USS America (LHA-6), including cross-deck landings.
In addition, HMS Prince of Wales carried out joint exercises with the Japanese Maritime Self-Defense Force (JMSDF) and JS Kaga (DDH/CVM-184), a multirole helicopter destroyer being converted into a de facto carrier.
“The fact that we are operating UK jets from Japanese ship Kaga and [US ship] USS America means that you can extend the range that you can operate so we can launch from here, recover to USS America, refuel, have the jets maintained, upload weapons and go on further – increasing the range and capabilities,” Blackmore added.
The Prince of Wales Might Be Home by Christmas
As USNI News also noted, CSG 25 still has approximately 70 days remaining in its Indo-Pacific deployment. During the return journey, current plans call for joint operations with at least one of the Indian Navy’s two aircraft carriers. The British flattop also has scheduled port visits to Goa and Mumbai, the latter the site of a former British naval base during the colonial era (when the city was known as Bombay).
HMS Prince of Wales is also expected to operate under NATO command when it reaches the Mediterranean, and this will include joint operations with the Italian Navy, likely involving that nation’s flagship, the ITS Cavour.
Following that, the conventionally-powered aircraft carrier and escorts will arrive home—just in time for Christmas, if everything goes to plan and sticks to the schedule.
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: Shutterstock / Kevin Shipp.
