An F-35B Jet takes off from the UK carrier HMS Prince of Wales. Photo: UK Ministry of Defence
The Royal Navy is coming Down Under – and it’s bringing some European friends as part of Operation Highmast.
Highmast is a UK-led NATO carrier strike group that will spend eight months at sea and will come to Australia for war games.
The UK Government says the group will be led by the Royal Navy flagship and aircraft carrier HMS Prince of Wales, will fly the flag for UK support for security in the Mediterranean and Indo-Pacific – and for British trade and industry.
The Prince of Wales is due to depart Portsmouth on April 22 to join the other ships off Cornwall then head for the Mediterranean for exercises.
The group is likely to pass through the Suez Canal for war games with Indian forces followed by ‘games’ in June with Malaysian and Indonesian forces before it arrives at Darwin.
The group is expected to take part in the 19-nation Exercise Talisman Sabre in the Top End before it heads to Japan then back to India and home again by the end of the year.
Twelve nations will be involved in the group, contributing ships or personnel. They include Norway, France, Italy, Canada, Sweden, Denmark and Spain according to the UK government and media reports.
The British Government says a strike force of this size normally comprises of frigates, destroyers, submarines and supply ships.
Apart from the carrier, the group is likely to feature a destroyer, frigate, aviation support vessel, a tanker, air support from the carrier and support aircraft from the RAF including an aerial tanker, maritime patrol jets and troop transports.
About 4000 British naval, army and air force personnel will be onboard as the group sails through the Indian Ocean for a series of war games and port visits with India, Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, Australia and Japan.
A Royal Navy VTOL F-35 Lightning hovers in to land last year. Photo: UK Ministry of Defence.
FLYING THE FLAG
UK Defence Secretary John Healey says Highmast will demonstrate the UK’s capability to deploy a major military force around the world.
Trade events for UK companies will also be held during the port calls.
“This is a unique opportunity for the UK to operate in close co-ordination with our partners and allies …,” he says.
“As one of only a handful of countries in the world able to lead a deployment of this scale, the Royal Navy is again demonstrating its capability while … sending a powerful message of deterrence to any adversary.”
The carrier will carry up to 24 F-35B fighter jets which feature VTOL (Vertical Take-Off and Landing) capability, helicopters and the trial use of nine remote octo-copters to transfer smaller goods between ships.
A stated military goal of Highmast will be to declare the UK’s Lightning fleet fully operational. Aircraft from the Navy’s 809 Naval Air Squadron and the RAF’s iconic 617 (‘Dambusters’) Squadron will be onboard.
UK Armed Forces Minister Luke Pollard says Highmast will serve as a reminder that Euro-Atlantic and Indo-Pacific security are indivisible.
“This isn’t just about hard power; it’s about building influence and opening new trade opportunities for defence and other sectors of our economy which will deliver British jobs and growth,” he says.
