Royal Navy: First HMS Prince of Wales movement of 2025 announced with busy year from Portsmouth ahead - when
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Sailors will be moving HMS Prince of Wales for the first time this year with a busy 12 months planned for the Royal Navy flagship.
The 65,000 tonne aircraft carrier will be turned round by personnel at the Prince’s Royal Jetty tomorrow afternoon (January 16), according to the King’s Harbour Master shipping movements. This is the first entry relating to the £3.2bn warship in 2025.
Six tugs, Tempest, Bountiful, Independent, Indulgent, Christina and Suzanne, are scheduled to carry out the task at 12.50pm. The flagship is due to be deployment to the Indo-Pacific this Spring, where she will carry out military exercises and diplomatic operations.
One of these is Exercise Talisman Sabre - where forces from 19 nations will carry out drills near Australia. This will be the first time a Queen Elizabeth-class carrier will dock at the Oceanic nation.
Foreign secretary David Lammy previously said: “The UK and Australia have a long and enduring friendship underpinned by close trade ties that are benefiting Brits and Aussies alike. The growth mission is the central mission of the government. We want to go further to deepen our cooperation with countries like Australia to boost economic growth, build supply chain resilience and transition to net zero.”
The aircraft carrier - who will be taking charge of the UK Carrier Strike Group - will also visit Japan during the deployment to the Indo-Pacific region. Prime minister Sir Keir Starmer previously called for more patrols in the area in a bid to combat the influence of China. With Beijing bolster its forces with a three-engine stealth bomber and another aircraft described as a “mothership for drones”, Lord Vernon Coaker said the deployment will be an appropriate response.
The Labour peer previously said: “We’ve looked at the implications for our own defence and that of our allies with respect to the development in China. Across the world, the power of ourselves and that of our international allies including the United States will be reflected with the Carrier Strike Group that will not only go into the Mediterranean but also the Indo-Pacific. That will be about asserting the rule of law.”