By Olha Chepil | 2025-05-05

KYIV -- Britain's most advanced warship, HMS Prince of Wales, has departed Portsmouth to lead Operation Highmast, the United Kingdom's most ambitious naval deployment in recent years.

The aircraft carrier, one of the largest and most technologically advanced vessels ever built for the Royal Navy, will command a multinational carrier strike group that includes ships from allied nations. Their route spans the Mediterranean, Middle East and Indo-Pacific, positioning the United Kingdom at the center of a renewed effort to project naval power and strengthen defense ties across key regions.

Strategic objectives

Commodore James Blackmore, who leads the strike group, described the deployment as an international effort from the start, with 13 nations participating alongside the United Kingdom.

In addition to its multinational makeup, the mission is built around three strategic objectives. First, to declare the UK carrier strike group fully operational by year's end -- demonstrating Britain's ability to maintain two carriers, with at least one always ready for tasking.

Second, to reinforce the United Kingdom's long-term commitment to NATO and contribute to its evolving strategy. As Blackmore explained, the NATO 2030 vision calls for keeping the alliance "strong militarily, growing it strong politically and then taking a more global approach."

"I think you will see through this deployment, we will be able to hit on all three of those areas," Blackmore said during a briefing on April 22.

The third goal is to support broader international security and prosperity through joint exercises and partnerships.

The strike group's composition reflects those ambitions. Alongside the HMS Prince of Wales are an air-defense destroyer, an anti-submarine frigate, and a Tide-class replenishment tanker. Canada and Norway have also contributed warships, including multirole and anti-submarine frigates and a support vessel.

The group plans to engage with 40 nations during the deployment, ranging from bilateral operations with partners like Singapore to large-scale, multi-carrier exercises in the Pacific involving US and Japanese forces.

'This is a massive operation'

"This will be a multirole, multinational carrier group that will operate for an extended period at sea," Pavlo Lakiychuk, a program director at Ukraine's Strategy XXI Center for Global Studies, stressed in an interview with Kontur.

The 7.5-month mission will involve more than 3,000 British personnel aboard the ships, with the total rising to more than 4,000 during multinational phases of the deployment. HMS Prince of Wales will carry up to 24 F-35B jets, the largest-ever operational deployment of British fifth-generation aircraft at sea, demonstrating both offensive and defensive capabilities.

"This is a massive operation -- not just in the sense that it is so long but also in terms of how many service members are participating in these exercises," Serhiy Bratchuk, a spokesperson for the Ukrainian Volunteer Army and a military and political correspondent, told Kontur.

Besides the British, the exercise will include "200 Norwegians, 200 Canadians, Spaniards and more," said Bratchuk.

The deployment will serve as "tests for the maintenance unit, the crew and the air wing," offering "very robust training for the British sailors," said Lakiychuk.

A show of force beyond NATO's borders

The 21st century has brought a new kind of threat -- global in scope and complexity, say analysts. China's expanding influence, the militarization of the South China Sea, cyberattacks, piracy and regional instability have made the Indo-Pacific a critical arena. In response, Western democracies are striving to extend their presence and project strength farther from home.

"NATO's European members are helping the United States maintain security in the Indo-Pacific region. This is important for NATO," Maksym Palamarchuk, an analyst at Ukraine's National Institute for Strategic Studies, told Kontur.

Observers view Operation Highmast as a sign that NATO and its leading members are adjusting to new geopolitical realities. The alliance, once defined by its European defense posture, is taking on the shape of a global partnership.

"This is a display of united support, and that is why this sort of campaign is very important," Lakiychuk said.

The operation signals the United Kingdom's maritime resurgence, equipped with next-generation aircraft and backed by a multinational fleet, he said.

"The UK is the queen of the seas. For the British, freedom of navigation in the world is a guiding principle that they are willing to fight for," Lakiychuk said.

The geopolitical significance

The mission will build on that route with a series of high-intensity exercises conducted alongside key regional allies. As the carrier group moves through the Suez Canal, it will operate in the Red Sea and Indian Ocean, testing coordination, readiness and interoperability across multiple theaters.

"This is a show of force precisely in the critical locations that may reveal themselves in the geopolitical space with regard to military security," Bratchuk said.

A central focus of the Pacific leg will be multinational exercises hosted by Australia and involving 19 partner countries. The group will also carry out comprehensive training with Japanese forces and make a port call in India to deepen UK-Indian ties.

"Australia will be the base installation. It will have a vital role in this campaign," Lakiychuk said. "The Japanese are also interested in taking part in joint training with NATO partners, who do not often enter their territorial waters from the Atlantic."

The United Kingdom is signaling that, despite domestic pressures, European powers can still project strength far from home, say analysts. The deployment reinforces commitments to free navigation and international law by coordinating with partners like Japan, Australia and India.

"The European group that is traveling through the Indian Ocean and Pacific Ocean is showing that on this route it is actually capable of engaging in combat," Palamarchuk said.