BRITAIN’s most powerful warship, the aircraft carrier HMS Prince of Wales, sailed into Gibraltar on Sunday after concluding a mammoth eight-month global deployment.
The arrival of the £3.2 billion Royal Navy flagship and its accompanying UK strike group in the Rock’s waters was greeted with a thunderous 12-gun salute as it navigated its way through the Bay of Gibraltar.
The pomp and ceremony came just days after the UK Defence Secretary, John Healey, declared the vessel was now at ‘war-fighting readiness’ and available to NATO at ten days’ notice.
The colossal 280-metre-long carrier, one of the two largest ships in the Royal Navy, reached Gibraltar on Sunday, November 23, marking its second-ever visit to the British Overseas Territory.
The arrival signals the culmination of Operation Highmast – an intense, eight-month mission that spanned over 40,000 nautical miles, from the Mediterranean to the Indo-Pacific.
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The show of force included the ship’s full contingent of escort and support vessels: the Type 45 Destroyer HMS Dauntless, the Type 23 Frigate HMS Richmond, and the Royal Fleet Auxiliary logistics ships RFA Tidespring and RFA Tideforce.
The key purpose of the visit was to demonstrate that the Carrier Strike Group (CSG) has achieved Full Operating Capability (FOC) under NATO command.
Crucially, the carrier is armed with the largest single contingent of fifth-generation stealth jets ever embarked on a British ship, carrying 24 F-35B Lightning II fighters ready for immediate deployment.
Speaking just before the ship docked, Defence Secretary Healey was unequivocal about the deployment’s meaning: “This today sends a message to [Vladimir] Putin and any would-be adversaries… We are ready together to stand up and reinforce global security and global deterrence.”
The visit underscores Gibraltar’s vital, and often politically contested, role as the indispensable strategic gateway to the Mediterranean, acting as the key logistic hub for allied forces returning from deployment.
The crew of Prince of Wales will now enjoy a few days of R&R on the Rock before returning to its home base in Portsmouth, UK.
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