Despite a global deployment, the Royal Navy struggles with shrinking ship numbers, maintenance issues, and limited operations, highlighting Britain’s declining naval power and inability to project force independently.
The Royal Navy once ruled the waves. Just a century ago, it was still the most significant naval force in the world; it wasn’t until the Second World War that the United States Navy overtook it in terms of sheer tonnage and the number of ships in service. It would be fair and accurate to say that it has been on a downward slide ever since.
The UK’s Ministry of Defense (MoD) has done its best to conceal this fact, notably praising the flagship HMS Prince of Wales as it reaches the midway point of Operation Highmast, the Carrier Strike Group 2025 (CSG25) deployment to the Indo-Pacific. Since April, the conventionally powered aircraft carrier has participated in a NATO exercise in the Mediterranean and conducted joint operations with the Indian Air Force, as well as with the United States Navy, as part of the larger Australian-led Talisman Sabre 2025.
In the coming weeks, HMS Prince of Wales will carry out operations with the Japanese Maritime Self Defense Force (JMSDF), before beginning the slow trip back home to British waters.
What Is the Purpose of CSG25?
The deployment is an international flotilla comprising warships from the Netherlands, Norway, Canada, Spain, and even New Zealand. This wasn’t so much about testing interoperability; the Royal Navy lacks the vessels to support a carrier.
Yet, even as a reasonably capable fighting force, one intended to project power in the Indo-Pacific to deter China, CSG-25 never integrated with the US Navy carriers operating in the Middle East. No sorties were reported to have been carried out against any of the numerous militant groups operating in the region.
One factor is that the US had affairs well in hand, and a fragile ceasefire remains with the Iranian-backed Houthi militants in Yemen, yet HMS Prince of Wales seemed to have sailed through the region with little fanfare. It wasn’t a CSG determined to deter regional aggression and to maintain stability as much as it seemed intent on avoiding any troubles.
Operational Highmast is indeed about showing the flag and maintaining a British presence in the Pacific. Still, the lack of any coordinated exercises with the US Navy makes it seem like the Royal Navy has forgotten that sailing “East of Aden” requires passing through those waters.
What Is the Status of the UK’s Warships?
That fact is all the more notable as this month, the Duke-class Type 23 frigate HMS Lancaster (F229) will reportedly be withdrawn from the UK’s Naval Support Facility in Bahrain. According to The Telegraph newspaper, the Royal Navy has maintained a presence in the Middle Eastern kingdom since 1935. The facility was rebuilt by Bahrain in 2018 and was home, until recently, to “minesweepers of the 9th Mine Counter-Measures Squadron and a Royal Fleet Auxiliary logistics vessel.”
HMS Lancaster is set to be decommissioned later this year, and that will leave just the Hunt-class minesweeper HMS Bangor (M108). The Royal Navy is moving forward with retiring its Type 23 frigates even as the Type 26 Global Combat Ship and Type 31 frigates aren’t set to enter service until 2028.
The absence of the carrier will be noted, as it “made two major drug seizures in recent months,” Maritime Executive reported. The warship has also been used to monitor the movements of the Iranian Navy and the vessels of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. Without HMS Lancaster in the region, the UK will have no warships present in the Gulf region for decades.
Only briefly this month was the Royal Navy able to send its two carriers to sea simultaneously. HMS Prince of Wales is operating in the Pacific, and HMS Queen Elizabeth is preparing for a trek back to Rosyth, Scotland, to undergo maintenance.
Although it had been previously scheduled as part of regular upkeep, it comes after the former flagship spent the first half of 2024 in the same facilities, addressing more serious issues with her shafts. HMS Prince of Wales had previously required similar repairs.
About the Author: Peter Suciu
Peter Suciu has contributed over 3,200 published pieces to more than four dozen magazines and websites over a thirty-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 Credit: Shutterstock/Andy Soloman.
