U.S. Marine Corps F-35B Lightning II plane from the usAmerica have cross-decked onto the Royal Navy’s HMS Prince of Wales forward of Train Talisman Sabre.
At the moment crusing in waters close to Australia whereas getting ready for the start of Train Talisman Sabre, because of kick off on Jul. 13, 2025, HMS Prince of Wales (R09) hosted F-35B Lightning IIs from Marine Fighter Assault Squadron 242 (VMFA-242) ‘Bats’.
VMFA-242, primarily based at Marine Corps Air Station Iwakuni in Japan, is deployed on board the amphibious assault ship USS America (LHA 6), which leads the America Amphibious Prepared Group (ARG). At the least two of the squadron’s F-35Bs – coded ‘23’ and ‘32’ – visited the British plane provider on Jul. 8, the place they’re stated to have accomplished scorching pit refuels. Sizzling pit refueling is the place an plane’s engine is stored working throughout refueling, which reduces the time taken to show the plane round and get it again within the air.
HMS Prince of Wales is main the Service Strike Group 25 deployment, which has taken the ship and its escorts from the UK, via the Mediterranean and Purple Seas, the Indian Ocean, and thru to the Australian coast by way of Singapore. Later within the voyage, the CSG will head north in the direction of Japan. In the course of August or September, HMS Prince of Wales will berth on the U.S. naval base in Yokosuka, whereas escorts HMS Dauntless (D33) and HNoMS Roald Amundsen (F311) will head to Japanese Maritime Self-Protection Drive’s a part of Yokosuka.
Already throughout its deployment, the Prince of Wales has hosted Italian F-35Bs throughout an identical train within the Mediterranean Sea. Whereas the Queen Elizabeth class is usually criticized for its lack of catapults and arresting wires – as a substitute catering primarily for brief takeoff and/or vertical touchdown (STOVL) or brief takeoff and touchdown (STOL) plane – nevertheless it must be famous that there are in actual fact now extra allied nations working STOVL plane just like the F-35B than there are those that function CATOBAR plane. With STOVL operations being regular observe for the F-35B even when working from land, it moreover requires little particular coaching for deck landings in comparison with catapults and wires.
U.S. Marine Corps F-35Bs have been completely embarked aboard HMS Queen Elizabeth (R08) through the Service Strike Group 21 deployment, augmenting the UK’s personal F-35Bs. Now, with extra jets delivered and extra personnel skilled, CSG 25 deployed with solely UK F-35Bs in its air wing. 18 F-35Bs kind the core a part of the air wing, with extra jets anticipated to connect briefly later within the deployment to carry the on-board fleet to 24 – satisfying a full working functionality (FOC) requirement. There are presently 17 UK F-35Bs on board the ship after a technical situation compelled one plane to divert to India in June, the place it nonetheless stays.
Correction to earlier submit about F-35 in India.
Opposite to Indian media stories, no additional work has been began and it’s unlikely there shall be a necessity to move the jet house in a cargo plane.
A workforce of specialist engineers from the UK is because of arrive quickly. (An… pic.twitter.com/tOU0MJzXWJ
— Navy Lookout (@NavyLookout) July 3, 2025
Nonetheless, there may be the chance that within the close to future the Queen Elizabeth class plane carriers will obtain upgrades that would see some association of catapults and arresting gear retrofitted to the decks. These would seemingly be smaller techniques in comparison with these of U.S. and French plane carriers, with the intention of widening the carriers’ means to discipline rising unmanned plane know-how.
These ‘hybrid air wings’ that includes each manned and unmanned plane have been endorsed by the current UK Strategic Defence Evaluate, launched in June 2025. The evaluate additionally steered the chance that the carriers may very well be used to instantly launch cruise missiles, although it didn’t supply element as to how this could be carried out.
At current, HMS Prince of Wales carries a small detachment of mounted wing and rotary wing unmanned plane from the Royal Navy’s 700X Squadron. RQ-20 Puma drones are utilised for intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance duties, whereas Malloy T-150 electrical vertical take-off and touchdown (eVTOL) UAVs are being trialed in a logistics capability. The T-150 can be utilized to switch smaller shops between ships within the process group, a task which might in any other case require the usage of a Merlin or Wildcat helicopters’ valuable flight hours.
Conflicting Pursuits
Notably, only a month earlier than this cross-decking train, the U.S. Below Secretary of Protection for Coverage Elbridge Colby is reported to have requested British defence officers whether or not their process group may very well be referred to as again house. He’s alleged by two nameless sources chatting with Politico to have claimed “we don’t need you there”.
That is unimaginable. Not actually unimaginable — it’s fully predictable. So, stunning, I suppose. pic.twitter.com/7hcmrmOtI2
— Noah Rothman (@NoahCRothman) July 9, 2025
The British representatives have been stated to be shocked by the statements, notably so given the encouragement given by earlier U.S. administrations in the direction of the UK’s Pacific ‘tilt’. Traditionally talking, the UK has lengthy staked a major presence within the Indo-Pacific area – whereas the British Empire is not any extra, the Commonwealth stays and plenty of robust, long-lasting partnerships have been fashioned each with these nations in addition to these outdoors of Britain’s historic affect.
Japan, notably, has considerably strengthened its co-operation with the UK on defence issues. The 2 nations are companions within the World Fight Air Programme (GCAP), with the intention of manufacturing a sixth era fighter plane by the mid 2030s. British Military items have additionally visited the Pacific nation on a variety of events lately to affix Japanese forces in workouts. A extremely anticipated port go to to Yokosuka by HMS Queen Elizabeth in 2021 was sadly dampened by the COVID-19 pandemic, with crew members not in a position to depart the ship.
Royal Navy deployments to the Far East have, in actual fact, been a daily prevalence for many years. It’s only lately that the tempo has slipped considerably because of declining fleet numbers and elevated pressures from operations elsewhere.
Even because the everlasting UK presence within the area, primarily based from Hong Kong, was about to stop with the hand-over of sovereignty to China, the Royal Navy commenced Ocean Wave 97. Ocean Wave 97 took plane provider HMS Illustrious (R06) and a large escort fleet on visits to a big checklist of East Asian and Pacific nations. Frigates indifferent from the principle group even berthed in Ho Chi Minh Metropolis, Vietnam, and Vladivostok, Russia. Remarkably, there are in actual fact personnel presently deployed with Service Strike Group 25 who have been additionally a part of Ocean Wave 97.
Within the years following, the flagship plane carriers and amphibious ships of the fleet have been largely tied up by conflicts in Jap Europe and the Center East. Nonetheless, particular person frigates and destroyers nonetheless routinely made journeys to the Far East every year. In 2009, a bunch headed by amphibious assault ships HMS Ocean (L12) and HMS Bulwark (L15) led the Taurus 09 deployment, the biggest single deployment then undertaken by the Royal Navy in a decade. The deployment culminated in Singapore, that includes a variety of amphibious workouts, anti-submarine warfare workouts, and anti-piracy operations throughout its course.
Orient Specific ’83 concerned the deploymet of the provider group to the Pacific, together with a go to to Australia, marred by controversy over whether or not she was carryng nuclear weapons, and workouts with the usKitty Hawk group within the South China Sea./5 pic.twitter.com/sLjy7DCyiV
— Participating Technique (@EngageStrategy1) Might 2, 2021
Earlier than HMS Queen Elizabeth’s Service Strike Group 21 deployment in 2021, the final Royal Navy plane provider to go to the area was HMS Illustrious in 2013. Joined by HMS Daring, a Sort 45 destroyer, the plane provider deployed with a helicopter air wing (the Harrier pressure having been retired in 2011) to help with support operations within the Philippines following Hurricane Haiyan. Illustrious was decommissioned the next yr, with HMS Ocean taking up helicopter provider duties following a refit. Ocean would stay in service till 2018, by which period HMS Queen Elizabeth (R08) was present process sea trials.
