HMS Prince of Wales prepares for Arctic deployment to ‘protect UK waters’
The aircraft carrier HMS Prince of Wales has left Portsmouth in preparation for a deployment in the Arctic to “protect UK waters”, the Royal Navy said.
The Royal Navy flagship and its crew of more than 900 sailed from the Hampshire naval base on Friday carrying helicopters and drones.
The warship will deploy to the High North and North Atlantic later this year and take part in operations under Nato’s Arctic Sentry mission – the alliance’s initiative to improve security in the region.
It comes after the UK and allies tracked a Russian attack submarine and two spy submarines loitering near critical undersea infrastructure in the High North last month.
“The High North continues to be a critical area of interest to the Royal Navy with regular deployments to the Arctic Circle and surrounding areas – working alongside allies and partners,” the Royal Navy said in a statement on Friday.
“It comes as the Royal Navy and the wider UK armed forces continue to be ready to protect UK waters and wider interests from a variety of potential threats.”
The ship will undergo training in UK waters before the ship embarks ammunition in Scotland ready for operations, according to the Royal Navy.
HMS Prince of Wales had been in Portsmouth Naval Base since the end of November, when it completed an eight-month mission to the western Indo-Pacific region.
Earlier this month, Defence Secretary John Healey said the Russian activity in UK waters was closely monitored and warned Russia that any attempt to damage infrastructure would have “serious consequences”.
Addressing Russian President Vladimir Putin, Mr Healey said: “We see your activity over our cables and our pipelines, and you should know that any attempt to damage them will not be tolerated and will have serious consequences.”
He added that – while many eyes were trained on the Middle East crisis – the UK, in partnership with Norway and other allies, responded to “increased Russian activity” in the Atlantic north of the UK.
Published: by Radio NewsHub