HMS Prince of Wales and HMS Duncan return to Portsmouth after Arctic and North Atlantic mission

HMS Prince of Wales and HMS Duncan are returning to Portsmouth this morning after completing the first phase of a three-month mission in the Arctic and North Atlantic.

The warships are heading back to their home port to allow personnel to take leave and for maintenance to be carried out before the UK Carrier Strike Group begins the second stage of Operation Firecrest in northern European waters this autumn.

Shipping was halted for a time in the area while both warships made their way into Portsmouth.

The UK Carrier Strike Group, led by flagship HMS Prince of Wales, has been operating along NATO’s Northern Flank as part of efforts to preserve security in the region.

The force has also included destroyer HMS Duncan, tanker RFA Tidespring and an air wing of F-35B Lightning jets, helicopters and uncrewed autonomous systems.

The first half of the mission concluded with Exercise Neptune Strike, which saw ten NATO allies operate across air, sea and land in the Atlantic.

Commodore Richard Hewitt, Commander of the UK Carrier Strike Group, said: “Over the past three months, we have a proven the UK Carrier Strike Group capabilities over and over again, committing this capability to NATO and demonstrating our determination to defend NATO’s Northern flank.

“We have shown how we can generate, sustain and when called upon, defend our NATO and JEF allies against unwanted threats in the High North and North Atlantic.

“Neptune Strike has been a successful finish, demonstrating our capability and supporting NATO deterrence across the Euro-Atlantic.”

Exercise Neptune Strike was designed to reinforce NATO’s protection of allied territory by demonstrating the ability of its personnel and equipment to operate together as a unified deterrent.

The exercise saw F-35B Lightning jets from 809 Naval Air Squadron carry out long-range air strikes.

An RAF Voyager and an Italian 767 tanker were used to extend the aircraft’s range, allowing sorties to be conducted over the North Atlantic and as far as Poland.

The task group’s ships focused on surface and underwater operations, supported by Merlin and Wildcat helicopters from the carrier air group.

Frigate HMS Somerset and a French destroyer also joined the strike group during the exercise.

Commodore Donald Mackinnon, Assistant Chief of Staff of Operations at NATO Joint Force Command Norfolk, said: “Neptune Strike 26-3 demonstrates NATO’s ability to integrate maritime, air, land and multinational forces across one of the Alliance’s most strategically significant regions.

"Operating in the High North and North Atlantic strengthens our readiness, reinforces interoperability among Allies, and ensures we can command and synchronise multi-domain operations as required.

"Activities like this underscore JFC Norfolk’s commitment to enhancing collective defence, deterrence, and the security of the transatlantic region.”

Since leaving Portsmouth in April, the strike group has worked with 19 allies from NATO and the Joint Expeditionary Force, strengthening regional partnerships and the defence of the Euro-Atlantic.

A key part of Operation Firecrest involved delivering NATO’s Arctic Sentry enhanced Vigilance Activity.

Aircraft launched from HMS Prince of Wales also carried out NATO’s Air Policing mission to protect the skies above Iceland and the Arctic from incursions by Russian aircraft.

It was the first time the mission had been conducted using aircraft launched from a European aircraft carrier.

The deployment included combined aviation operations with 18 NATO allies during Exercise Ramstein Flag and submarine-hunting activities as part of Exercise Dynamic Mongoose.

The group also took part in Exercise Tamber Shield, an Anglo-Norwegian test of helicopter, missile and fast-attack boat tactics in the confined waters of Norway’s fjords.

The strike group most recently visited Iceland, where it hosted the UK Defence Secretary, Iceland’s Foreign Minister and the country’s Defence Director ahead of NATO’s summit in Ankara.

HMS Prince of Wales also visited Stavanger in Norway, while HMS Duncan called at Bergen, Aarhus in Denmark and its affiliated city of Dundee.

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