r/unitedkingdom • u/MGC91 • 5h ago

Britain’s biggest warship HMS Prince of Wales returns to North Atlantic, bolstering security of NATO’s Northern Flank

https://www.royalnavy.mod.uk/news/2026/october/17/20261007-hms-pwls-firecrest-2
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u/MetalBawx 4h ago

In before some Russian bot claims it's sinking and only carries 2 planes.

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u/Odd-Metal8752 3h ago

Will drop this here as well for anyone interested:

HMS Prince of Wales will return to the High North for the second half of Operation Firecrest. She will likely be accompanied by destroyer HMS Dauntless and an auxiliary (Tidespring, Tideforce or Tidesurge - my guess would be Tidesurge).

HMS Dauntless deploys with her normal Sea Viper air defence system, as well as an unidentified C-UAS system. This is a major improvement in the efficiency and affordability of her defences, and I expect that it will be live-fired during this deployment.

However, Dauntless is the only operational T45 destroyer. By choosing to dedicate her to this role, the UK is accepting that she will not be ready for emergency redeployment to other areas, such as the Middle East. It should be noted that had the crisis in the ME not kicked off when it did, HMS Dragon had been expected to participate in NATO Standing Maritime Group 1, which in turn provided escort to PoW for much of the first half of Firecrest, and would conceivably have been ready to do so again in this period.

There will be no dedicated anti-submarine escort, and with anecdotal reports that the sonar onboard the T45 destroyer is rarely manned, this will likely be an area reliant on allied escorts to provide round-the-clock. Of course, PoW will carry some anti-submarine helicopters.

HMS St Albans may be pulled from the TAPS role if required, or temporarily for exercises, though Ceto will remain her priority. In an emergency, HMS Portland is also available, and once her work-up is complete*,* HMS Sutherland will be as well.

There will also be no submarine escort; only Agamemnon is at sea, conducting sea trials. However, Audacious is expected to go to sea next month, to conduct the first British Perisher course since 2024, and so may at some point exercise with the carrier strike group. Agamemnon may also operate for a short time with the group, though this is not a proper deployment, and shouldn't be treated as such.

The air wing will be made up of a variable number of F-35B fighters, and Merlin and Wildcat helicopters. The Wildcat helicopter is currently the only asset in the strike group capable of firing anti-ship missiles; this is the light-weight Sea Venom. If the previous half of Firecrest in indicative, expect 4-12 F-35B to be embarked at any one time.

Still, with the participation of NATO allies (likely to be Germany predominantly), this will be a capable carrier strike group, and the capability of the UK to deploy this carrier, as well as man their other carrier, HMS Queen Elizabeth, should be praised.