'Warm welcome' for hard-working Royal Navy HMS Dauntless sailors as they’re thanked by PM for Indo-Pacific op
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Skilful Royal Navy sailors were thanked by the prime minister for their hard work on a global deployment.
Personnel from Portsmouth-based HMS Dauntless visited Downing Street on Wednesday (February 25). They were reunited with old friends from the UK Carrier Strike Group, which was deployed to the Indo-Pacific.
“Members of Ship's Company deployed on Operation Hightmast were invited to Number 10 Downing Street for a warm welcome and personal thanks from the Prime Minister for our collective success on deployment,” a statement said. “The visit also enabled a reunion between our old Task Group team mates.”
Aviators from 815 Naval Air Squadron, in charged of the Royal Navy’s Wildcat and Merlin helicopters, were also invited to the ceremony. A statement said: “Several of our aircrew and engineers from Operation HIGHMAST were invited to Number 10 Downing Street for a personal thanks from the prime minister. A well-deserved recognition for their professionalism, resilience and outstanding contribution throughout the premier deployment of 2025.
“815 NAS deployed in HMS Prince of Wales, HMS Dauntless, and HNoMS Roald Amundsen, on an intensive eight-month operation across the globe. Our Wildcat helicopters proved their worth as a credible maritime strike platform, built around the precision and punch of our Martlet and Sea Venom missiles.”
HMS Dauntless played a vital air defence role alongside HMS Prince of Wales on the UK Carrier Strike Group. Operation Highmast saw personnel conduct major exercises and diplomatic engagements in Japan, Australia, India, South Korea, and elsewhere. They did face challenges on their eight month mission after leaving Portsmouth on April 22, which included harassment from Chinese forces while sailing through the Taiwan Strait and South China Sea.
This year has proved busy for the Type 45 destroyer. She joined France’s huge aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle and her carrier strike group, as it prepared for Operation Orion with Nato allies.
Operations room supervisor LS(AWT) Tom Foley said: “It’s been an interesting experience working with the Charles de Gaulle task group. The team and I particularly enjoyed the war at sea exercise as it allowed us to be adaptive and tactical in how we were going to find and defeat the enemy. It being more free-play made it different from most exercises I’ve done before.”