HMS Prince of Wales prepared for action - all the key facts and figures about the Royal Navy's flagship

Meanwhile HMS Prince of Wales has reportedly been placed on five days’ notice to sail in response to Middle East crisis.

Currently in Portsmouth, the aircraft carrier is coming to the end of a maintenance period that followed her return from for Indo-Pacific deployment at the end of last year.

Watch the video embedded in this story for highlights of her return

The Royal Navy has now increased the readiness of the aircraft carrier, shortening the time required for the carrier to put to sea from 14 days to five days.

Her next deployment was expected to lead a key Arctic Strike Carrier Group deployment to tackle Russian threat called Operation Firecrest which was due to begin next month.

The current work being carried out does not preclude it undertaking other planned missions, and the Ministry of Defence says, it has “always been on very high readiness”.

HMS Prince of Wales’ sister ship HMS Queen Elizabeth remains in Rosyth undergoing maintenance.

Facts and figures about HMS Prince of Wales

• The Queen Elizabeth Class consists of the twin aircraft carriers, HMS Queen Elizabeth and HMS Prince of Wales.
• HMS Queen Elizabeth and HMS Prince of Wales are the largest and most powerful vessels ever constructed for the Royal Navy.
• HMS Prince of Wales weighs 65,000 tonnes.
• It has a top speed in excess of 25 knots per hour and a range of 10,000 nautical miles.
• The flight deck is 280 metres long and 70 metres wide.
• It can carry up to 72 aircraft, including a maximum of 36 F-35B fighter jets.

• Two lifts are capable of lifting four F-35 fighter jets from the hangar to the flight deck in 60 seconds.
• HMS Prince of Wales can operate on a crew of 678, but can accommodate up to 1,600 people.
• It uses three Phalanx CIWS (close-in weapon system) turrets to deal with incoming threats from the sea and air.
• The Phalanx has a dual fire rate of 3,000 or 4,500 shots per minute and is capable of hitting targets up to a mile away.
• HMS Prince of Wales’ crew will have an expansive range of skills, and will be able to meet a range of tasks around the world, including: fighting terrorism, high intensity warfighting and humanitarian relief, according to the Royal Navy.
• She is currently the Royal Navy’s flagship, taking over the role from HMS Queen Elizbeth with the two carriers taking turns.
• She entered service in 2019, arriving in Portsmouth from Scotland in November 2019, before being formally commissioned into the Royal Navy at a ceremony in Portsmouth on December 10.
• The ship's commissioning date marked the 78th anniversary of the sinking of her predecessor, a World War II era battleship which was lost in action along with HMS Repulse in 1941.
• She is the eighth Royal Navy ship to have the name HMS Prince of Wales.