The Royal Navy is increasing the readiness of the aircraft carrier, HMS Prince of Wales. The move shortens the time required for the carrier to put to sea, should the government decide additional naval forces are needed.
It should be made clear this change of posture does not mean she will definitely be deployed, but increased readiness offers options if the situation worsens or the UK needs to make a greater effort to protect its interests. Alerting warships to be prepared in response to changing events is normal practice.
Prince of Wales is nearing the end of a maintenance period that followed her return from the 8-month HIGHMAST deployment in December, but she remained the carrier at high readiness. (HMS Queen Elizabeth’s ongoing docking and certification period in Rosyth is now several months behind schedule, and it could be some time before she returns to service.)
Reducing the notice to sail from 14 days to 5 days requires preparations to be accelerated. Final maintenance tasks must be completed, the ship’s company recalled from leave and training courses and all systems checked to ensure the ship is at the highest state of readiness. The ship already has aircraft ordnance and munitions in her magazines that were embarked last year.
Should it be decided to send the carrier to the eastern Med or beyond, the immediate problem would be finding escorts. Although HMS Duncan has been at sea recently, she needs a maintenance period before she goes anywhere; it would have been very high-risk to deploy her instead of HMS Dragon. Duncan’s maintenance period will likely be completed as fast as possible once Dragon sails next week. There is probably a single frigate available to deploy, assuming the TAPS tasking is the priority. As was the case during Operation HIGHMAST last year, there would be a need for European allies to provide additional escorts.
HMS Prince of Wales was slated to join Operation FIRECREST, which was not due to begin until April. This was not planned as one long deployment, and she would return to the UK before going to High North. FIRECREST is now somewhat in doubt. The UK Carrier Strike Group was supposed to sail across the Atlantic to visit a US port, and USMC F-35s were also expected to operate from HMS Prince of Wales. The operation was intended to include key allies, including the US, Canada, and Joint Expeditionary Force (JEF) nations. US participation is now especially uncertain, even if FIRECREST goes ahead as planned.
6 F-35Bs are deployed at RAF Akrotiri, but it is unclear how many other jets 617 Squadron and 809 Naval Air Squadron have immediately available as they regenerate after HIGHMAST and prepare for FIRECREST.
Fully tooled up, exercise Falcon Strike, central Mediterranean, November 2025.
Meanwhile, the US aircraft carrier USS Gerald R. Ford has departed the Mediterranean and is now operating in the Red Sea, potentially her trip will become the longest American carrier deployment since the Vietnam War. USS Abraham Lincoln is currently in the Arabian Sea, launching strike missions against Iran. At the same time, the next US carrier to become available, USS George H.W. Bush, has completed its final pre-deployment certification.
The French carrier, FS Charles de Gaulle, passed through the Strait of Gibraltar yesterday as she was rapidly re-tasked from her planned North Atlantic deployment. The Marine Nationale has also just deployed the assault ship FS Tonnerre and frigate FS Courbet to the eastern Med. FS Languedoc has been sent specifically to contribute to the air defence of Cyprus.
Main image: HMS Prince of Wales in support period, 25th February 2026. The tents on the flight deck protect the deck while specialist heat resistant coatings are reapplied (Photo: Andy Amor)
