LONDON (dpa-AFX) - A British aircraft carrier will lead a multinational deployment for the security of the Mediterranean and Indo-Pacific.
The UK Defense Ministry announced that HMS Prince of Wales is scheduled to sail from Portsmouth on April 22 to join a formation of warships, supply ships, and aircraft off the coast of Cornwall, before departing for the Mediterranean where it will conduct exercises to reinforce European security.
Around 2,500 personnel from the Royal Navy and 592 from the Royal Air Force will be involved in the eight-month deployment, which will see the group sail through the Indian Ocean to conduct exercises and port visits with partners including the US, India, Singapore, and Malaysia. They will be joined by around 900 personnel from the British Army for exercises during the deployment.
The deployment, named Operation Highmast, provides an opportunity for the UK's Armed Forces to conduct a major global deployment and a chance to exercise complex operations alongside partners and allies in the region, with 12 other nations supporting the deployment with ships or personnel.
With 24 Air Force F-35B Lighting fighter jets on board HMS Prince of Wales, the group will initially be placed under NATO command as it joins Exercise Neptune Strike - testing the Alliance's ability to use high-end maritime strike capabilities, including multiple aircraft carrier and amphibious strike groups.
The group will transit though the Indian Ocean, conducting exercises and port visits with partners including the US, India, Singapore and Malaysia, before joining 19 partner nations for Exercise Talisman Sabre near Australia, and then training alongside the Japanese Self Defense Forces and conducting a port visit to India.
The Indo-Pacific is a critical region for UK trade, with imports and exports in the region worth billions of pounds for the UK economy, and the deployment will provide a chance for UK companies to take part in trade events during port visits.
As the biggest class of ship in the Royal Navy, the flight decks of HMS Prince of Wales and her sister ship are roughly the size of three football grounds and defended by advanced weapons. A maritime strike force of this size is composed of multiple types of ship, frigates, destroyers, submarines, and supply ships to support logistics.
'As one of only a handful of countries in the world able to lead a deployment of this scale, the Royal Navy is once again demonstrating its formidable capability while protecting British values and sending a powerful message of deterrence to any adversary, said Defense Secretary John Healey.
UK's Minister for the Armed Forces, Luke Pollard said, 'Through this deployment of our Carrier Strike Group and 4,000 Service Personnel, we will stand firm with our allies against those who challenge the international order. Reminding the world that the security of the Euro Atlantic and Indo-Pacific are fundamentally indivisible'.
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