The UK Royal Navy’s flagship, the aircraft carrier HMS Prince of Wales, has embarked 24 British F-35B Joint Strike Fighters for the first time as it leads the UK Carrier Strike Group in the Mediterranean after five months operating in the Indo-Pacific, the Royal Navy reported on 6 November 2025.
Two dozen F-35s is the highest number of the fifth-generation fighters ever assembled on either of the Royal Navy’s Queen-Elizabeth class aircraft carriers.
The F-35B – from 809 Naval Air Squadron and 617 Squadron – are there for Italian-led drills under Exercise ‘Falcon Strike’, which will see NATO allies work together on a large-scale air and maritime exercise.
Training with the Italian, US and Greek air forces, the UK F-35s will take part in day and night training scenarios during ‘Falcon Strike’ to strengthen NATO’s air capabilities.
Commodore James Blackmore, commander of the UK Carrier Strike Group, was quoted by the Royal Navy as saying, “It is fantastic to be back in the Mediterranean after a hugely successful period in the Indo-Pacific and a transit of the Red Sea. The upcoming exercises with NATO allies will be a real demonstration of the warfighting readiness of the UK Carrier Strike Group.
“The eight-month deployment covers over 26,000 nautical miles and engages with 40 nations,” he added, reinforcing the UK’s position as a leading European power delivering fifth-generation aircraft and carrier capabilities assigned as a primary contribution to NATO.”
Although the deployment of two dozen British F-35Bs on HMS Prince of Wales reportedly involved using aircraft from 207 Squadron, the type’s operational conversion unit (OCU), the milestone is tantamount to what is required for a full operating capability (FOC) to be declared for the F-35B at sea.
On 14 April 2025 the Royal Air Force stated of Operation ‘Highmast’, the UK Carrier Strike Group’s deployment to the Indo-Pacific, “Operation ‘Highmast’, is poised to be a landmark event, with plans to declare full operational capability (FOC) for both the jets and the Carrier Strike Group within the year.”
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