"Welcome to country": Watch the moment Royal Navy flagship HMS Prince of Wales makes historic visit to Darwin
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Powerful Royal Navy flagship HMS Prince of Wales has made a historic visit to Darwin in Australia.
The 65,000 warship, currently at the helm of the UK Carrier Strike Group (UKCSG) in the Indo-Pacific, sailed to HMAS Connawarra today (July 23). This comes hot off the heels of Exercise Talisman Sabre, a monumental operation which involved 35,000 military personnel from 19 nations.
HMS Prince of Wales has become the first Royal Navy ship to visit Australia in a generation. Not since HMS Illustrious made her way to Fremantle on her Ocean Wave deployment in 1997 has the White Ensign and Union Jack flown on the flight deck of a British warship in an Australian naval base.
The Royal Navy said: “Once berthed, the ship’s company were treated to a traditional ‘Welcome to Country’ ceremony on the jetty by the native Larrakia people as the historic land owners and custodians of the Darwin region.”
British personnel have been operating near Australia’s northern coast for the past few weeks, operating in conjunction with the USS George Washington carrier group. The flagship hosted the US Marine Corps, who flew their MV-22 Osprey aboard the sprawling flight deck. This was a precursor to USMC personnel and F-35B jets joining later in the deployment.
Exercise Talisman Sabre runs until the end of August, with the aim of sailors, marines and pilots from different nations being able to work alongside each other. The UKCSG is part way through completing Operation Highmast, with HMS Prince of Wales starting her mission after leaving Portsmouth on April 22.
Speaking about the recent Australia exercise, Commodore James Blackmore, Commander of the UKCSG, said: “This is a real demonstration of the UK and our partners’ warfighting capabilities.
“As the first UK-led multinational Carrier Strike Group to Talisman Sabre this is a powerful demonstration of our commitment to the Indo-Pacific region. Exercise Talisman Sabre is also an opportunity for the UK to develop new levels of integration between systems and capabilities with the US, Australia, and other partners, enhancing our interoperability even further and to unprecedented levels.”