Dzirhan Mahadzir – November 4, 2026 11:45 AM
Royal Navy aircraft carrier HMS Prince of Wales (R09) is conducting operations across the High North as HMS Queen Elizabeth (RO8) trains in the Mediterranean.
Prince of Wales recently participated in a U.S.-led nuclear command and control exercise near Norway while aircraft carrier Queen Elizabeth carried out interoperability exercises with Royal Air Force Chinook heavy lift helicopters off Gibraltar.
The Royal Navy alternates the two carriers with one acting as the high readiness carrier, conducting a deployment and being immediately available for tasking, while the other carrier undergoes a period of maintenance and crew rest before working up to taking over as the high readiness carrier.
Prince of Wales is currently the flagship of the U.K. Carrier Strike Group, escorted by destroyer HMS Dauntless (D33) and Royal Norwegian Navy frigate HNoMS Fridtjof Nansen (F310). The U.K. CSG is operating in Northern Europe and the High North as part of the second phase of the U.K.’s Operation Firecrest deployment.
On Oct. 26, Prince of Wales sailed through the Norwegian fjords to Hammernesodden, Namdalseid, to load on munitions and supplies. Hammernesodden is a key munitions storage area in Norway that also stores munitions for the U.S. Marine Corps under the Marine Corps Prepositioning Program-Norway. The evolution was a first for Prince of Wales outside the U.K.
“The visit will refine the concept of operations associated with Queen Elizabeth-class conducting a large-scale ammunitioning evolution at this Norwegian facility,” reads a U.K. Ministry of Defense photo release.
The U.K. CSG began the second phase of Firecrest last month with Prince of Wales and Dauntless leaving the U.K. on Oct. 18. The strike group recently wrapped up its participation in NATO eVA Neptune Strike 26-4 and on Oct. 24, its embarked F-35B Lightning II fighters and Royal Norwegian Air Force F-35A fighters escorted a U.S. Air Force B-52 bomber over the Norwegian Sea as part of Exercise Global Thunder, an annual nuclear command and control exercise by U.S. Strategic Command. Corvette HNoMS Glimt (P964) recently took part in live-fire exercises, according to a Royal Norwegian Navy post on Facebook.
The first phase of Firecrest saw Prince of Wales leading the U.K. CSG in a three-month deployment from April to July in which it participated in NATO anti-submarine warfare exercise Dynamic Mongoose around Norway, NATO air exercise Ramstein Flag, activities in support of NATO vigilance activity Arctic Sentry and, with the Spanish Navy Expeditionary Strike Group, NATO enhanced Vigilance Activity Neptune Strike 26-3 in the High North and North Atlantic. The U.K. CSG also carried out NATO’s Air Policing mission to safeguard the skies of Iceland and the Arctic from incursions by Russian aircraft during the first phase of Firecrest.
Prince of Wales is now heading to Oslo, Norway, where it will host the Atlantic Future Forum from Nov. 11-12. The event is an international summit for defence, security and technology leaders focused on enhancing the resilience and national security interests of democratic allies that is hosted annually on one of the Royal Navy’s two aircraft carriers.
The Royal Navy’s other carrier, Queen Elizabeth, is simultaneously conducting training in preparation for it to resume the high readiness carrier role while at the same time serving as the command ship for NATO’s Allied Response Force.
From Oct. 13-26, the carrier conducted Exercise Hathi Pol, Hindi for “elephant gate” with two Royal Air Force Chinook helicopters and 80 Royal Air Force personnel. The exercise is a long running maritime aviation activity by the two services.
The Royal Air Force contingent, led by No. 27 Squadron with support from personnel from No. 7 Squadron, carried out deck landing qualifications and embarked aviation qualification training as the carrier sailed from the Eastern Atlantic to Gibraltar.
If Chinooks are to be embarked on Royal Navy carriers, the helicopters will need to be shielded from the elements and undergo maintenance, the service said in a news release.
“That means transferring a helicopter from the flight deck to the hangar – a delicate operation which requires careful planning and execution,” reads the release.
At 99 feet in length, a Chinook just fits on the aircraft lift, its nose protruding over the edge, its rotors spread. It takes just 60 seconds to lower the 12-ton helicopter from the flight deck to the hangar deck level where maintenance can be carried out, according to the Royal Navy.
The embarked training is meant to directly contribute to maintaining defense readiness for a range of future operations, including Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief missions, Non-Combatant Evacuation Operations and wider contingency tasks around the world, reads a Royal Air Force news release.
By training in the maritime environment, Chinook crews gain experience operating from sea-based platforms, extending the flexibility and reach of the U.K.’s heavy-lift helicopter force.
“The exercise provided valuable opportunities for engineers and support personnel to develop and maintain the unique skills needed to sustain aviation operations at sea, strengthening the RAF’s ability to deploy rapidly alongside our partner services wherever required,” reads the release.
Supporting the two carriers in their operations is fleet oiler RFA Tideforce (A139), which conducted a six-week deployment that saw the ship delivering more than 2.9 million liters of fuel and sailing 7,500 miles in the Atlantic Ocean and in the Arctic.
“RFA Tideforce was at the heart of allied security operations across the North Atlantic and Arctic, delivering more than 2.9 million liters of fuel and becoming home to a submarine-hunting Merlin helicopter for intelligence sorties and missions reporting on Russian activity,” reads a Royal Navy news release.
The fleet oiler also supplied French and Dutch warships in the High North and supported both Queen Elizabeth and Prince of Wales during carrier operations.
The fleet oiler’s missions were carried out under Combined Task Force 320, which delivers maritime security operations, anti-submarine warfare and day-to-day oversight within U.K. waters. A Merlin helicopter from 814 Naval Air Squadron was embarked throughout the deployment with the helicopter operating from Tideforce to carry out intelligence-gathering activity, including operations involving Russian units in both the English Channel and North Atlantic.
Operating in the High North brought its own challenges, with demanding weather conditions at times forcing Tideforce to seek shelter off Iceland’s northern coast. The ship’s company later faced Storm Boelo, waiting out off the coast of Ireland. Tideforce operated in the Arctic Circle before returning to the Irish Sea to conduct a day into night replenishment at sea with Queen Elizabeth following the aircraft carrier’s departure from Belfast.
Tideforce also conducted a navigation exercise in the Gulf of Corryvreckan, between the Scottish islands of Jura and Scarba, which is renowned for its powerful tidal currents and whirlpools. Following a short logistical stop in Loch Striven to load cargo, the fleet oiler sailed in support of the U.K. CSG’s phase two of Operation Firecrest.
“And after avoiding three storms in very quick succession, Tideforce replenished the task group’s units,” reads the release.
Dzirhan Mahadzir
Dzirhan Mahadzir is a freelance defense journalist and analyst based in Kuala Lumpur Malaysia. Among the publications he has written for and currently writes for since 1998 includes Defence Review Asia, Jane’s Defence Weekly, Navy International, International Defence Review, Asian Defence Journal, Defence Helicopter, Asian Military Review and the Asia-Pacific Defence Reporter.
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