Laura Skitt – 27th October 2026 at 11:48am
In the skies above HMS Prince of Wales, history has been made by F-35Bs from 617 Squadron which have been working alongside Norwegian F-35As on Exercise Global Thunder.
Pilots from the British unit and the Royal Norwegian Air Force flew over the Norwegian Sea while escorting a US Air Force B-52 Stratofortress bomber in a sight that encouraged one person on social media to comment that it was “the best thing I’ve seen visually in my life”.
Of the milestone for the UK, the US and Norway, the social media account for the UK Carrier Strike Group said it was “another example of what can be achieved when allies work as one”.
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Exercise Global Thunder is US Strategic Command’s annual nuclear command and control exercise.
HMS Prince of Wales left Portsmouth on 18 October for the second phase of Operation Firecrest, the Royal Navy’s major 2026 Carrier Strike Group deployment to the North Atlantic, the High North and the Arctic.
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