"Great experience": HMS Prince of Wales joins forces with Indonesian Navy before Japan visit - what next?

HMS Prince of Wales and the UK Carrier Strike Group (UKCSG) linked up with their Indonesian counterparts as part of Operation Highmast. The task group and four Jakarta-based warships carried out a vital exercise while sailing through the Banda Sea between the Timor and Banda Arc island chain.

Lieutenant Woolcott, Officer of the Watch 1, was serving on the bridge during the drills and thoroughly enjoyed the chance to work with a Navy few in the Royal Navy regularly deal with.

The 27-year-old said: “It was a great experience working with the Indonesians, especially putting all the methods of communication into practice, such as flag signals and flashing light exercises to overcome any language barriers and work in unison to promote our forces overseas.”

What was the Indonesia exercise and what next for HMS Prince of Wales?

Known as a PASSEX, or a passing exercise, the drills are a combination of a formal greeting between navies and test of their ability to communicate and cooperate effectively together. The focus was on basic manoeuvres and communications by using lamp, semaphore, and flag and radio.

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Among the Indonesian units taking part were frigate KRI Raden Eddy Martadinata and fast patrol ship KRI Kapak. A CN-235 maritime patrol aircraft recorded the Carrier Strike Group’s progress as it ploughed through waters southwest of Buru Island, around 1,300 miles east of the Indonesian capital Jakarta.

The UKCSG ships involved include HMS Prince of Wales, HMS Dauntless, HMS Richmond, support tanker RFA Tidespring, Canadian frigate HMCS Ville de Québec, Norwegian frigate HNoMS Roald Amundsen, and a Wildcat in flight operating by 815 Naval Air Squadron. A notable absentee, Spanish frigate ESPS Méndez Núñez, was linking up with the Japanese Maritime Self Defence Force in preparation for the next stage of the Carrier Strike Group deployment.

The group is about to work side-by-side with the JS Kaga, a Japanese helicopter destroyer designed to hunt down hostile submarines, but recently converted to operate F-35B stealth fighters – the same model as flown by British and US Marine Corps pilots from the deck of HMS Prince of Wales. Having left Australia earlier this week, the current stage of the Operation Highmast deployment is focusing on Asia, leading up to high-profile visits to South Korea and Japan later this month.