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UK and US carrier groups flex muscles in North Sea as major exercise ends
25 October 2024
One of the most powerful maritime forces in the UK’s arsenal joined forces with a US counterpart to demonstrate allied resolve, unity and cooperation in the North Sea.
While at sea for Exercise Strike Warrior the UK Carrier Strike Group (UKCSG) – spearheaded by HMS Prince of Wales – and the US Carrier Strike Group 8 (CSG8) centred on the USS Harry S Truman, joined forces to deliver a powerful statement of NATO’s ability to project power from the sea.
Britain’s biggest warship hosted the US Strike Group Commander Rear Admiral Sean Bailey, who watched UK F-35B Lightning stealth fighters launch from her flight deck – then join the Truman’s F/A-18 Super Hornets and an E/A-18G Growler conduct a flypast over the two naval groups.
The UK Carrier Strike Group comprising HMS Prince of Wales, associated air wing, escorts, supporting vessels and almost 2,000 personnel, has been at sea for training as part of exercise Strike Warrior, one of the final milestones in the preparations of the Strike Group to undertake a global deployment to the Indo-Pacific region in 2025.
Lightnings from the UK’s new front-line strike fighter unit, 809 Naval Air Squadron have been operating from the deck of HMS Prince of Wales, training for strike missions that has included the dropping of live ordnance onto the Cape Wrath range in Scotland.
The exercise scenario was choreographed by the UK’s Joint Training and Exercise Planning Staff based in the Royal Navy Warfighting Centre in Portsmouth Naval Base with the activity of the Strike Group in response to the training scenario being directed by the staff of Headquarters UK Carrier Strike Group, embarked in HMS Prince of Wales.
Involving warships and support vessels from the Royal Navy and Royal Fleet Auxiliary along with elements of the British Army, Royal Air Force and NATO warships from six nations – Norway, Denmark, Belgium, Germany, Portugal and the UK – Exercise Strike Warrior has seen air and naval power tested in challenging tactical situations.
The RAF supported the anti-submarine defence of the Carrier Strike Group through provision of Poseidon P8 maritime patrol aircraft while other NATO aircraft supported F35s in defending the strike group from “aggressor” aircraft, to fend off threats from the sky.
Between these large scale set-piece activities, participating ships have conducted their own training – fighting fires and floods, dealing with mock casualties, replenishing with fuel and stores while underway. The end goal being to hone both individual and collective skills to forge a powerful yet flexible trike group able to deploy around the globe.
“Strike Warrior has delivered a short and intense period of training for the UK Carrier Strike Group, testing the group all the way from individual responses to a fire or flood through to complex long-range F-35B missions involving live weapon drops in support of Royal Marines ashore,” said Captain John Cromie, Deputy Commander UK Carrier Strike Group.
“Throughout the Strike Group has taken the opportunity to work alongside NATO partners participating in activity concurrent to Strike Warrior, confirming our procedures and interoperability with key Allies and demonstrating the UK’s continued and absolute commitment to NATO.”
The comprehensive training applied during Strike Warrior has thoroughly prepared Dauntless’ ship’s company to handle everything from fire and floods to high-end warfighting.
Since departing Portsmouth last month HMS Prince of Wales has sailed 1,500 conducting training. Her aircraft have conducted 71 sorties accounting for 210 hours (nearly nine whole days) airborne, and the F-35s have dropped four Paveway bombs on the Cape Wrath range during a live ordnance exercise.
Commander Nick Smith, 809 Naval Air Squadron’s Commanding Officer, said the maiden embarkation had been “phenomenally successful”, laying “firm foundations” for when his F-35s re-join the task group in 2025 on its first deployment.
He continued: “The training teams have surpassed their targets with 19 pilots completing carrier qualifications within the first weeks of the deployment and flight deck teams receiving their authorisations to safely operate on the deck, both day and night.
“Our integration has also spread beyond the ship, demonstrated by the successful release of live weapons on targets at Cape Wrath; weapons prepared by the ship’s company, loaded and delivered by 809 NAS and 617 Squadron engineers and pilots, controlled by Royal Marine Commandos on the ground.”
Strike Warrior concludes an intensive early autumn of training for HMS Prince of Wales and her 750-strong ship’s company. Her Commanding Officer Captain Will Blackett said it had been “hard work – but all of our benefit. We have made huge strides – from improving our ability to deal with emergencies internal to the ship, to refining task group defensive tactics, all the way through to accurately delivering live munitions on simulated targets at reach. This ship is amazing – and my people are even better.”
Among those benefiting was junior rating Able Seaman Thomas Fobbester who works in the carrier’s operations room who described the exercise as “a very valuable learning experience”.
Thomas added: “This is my first Ship and first time getting involved in this sort of thing. Camaraderie with the lads has been a key point. The air defence exercises have been the best, as the highest activity for me, but there’s also a lot of time living and working with the same people so getting to know them during our downtime has been really good.”
Portsmouth-based destroyer HMS Dauntless led the air defence of the strike group. Her Commanding Officer Commander Ben Dorrington said his team had been tested by “a broad range of threats, including enemy air sorties, anti-ship cruise missiles, and the challenges posed by electronic warfare” thanks to the scale and scope of the exercise – and proven the ship’s ability to protect the carrier group.
“The comprehensive training applied during Strike Warrior has thoroughly prepared Dauntless’ ship’s company to handle everything from fire and floods to high-end warfighting.”
Although Strike Warrior completes this weekend, further training will be conducted in UK waters before the Carrier Strike Group deploys in 2025.