Britain preparing aircraft carrier for possible deployment to Middle East as Iran war deepens

Prince of Wales is approaching the conclusion of scheduled maintenance work following her return from the eight-month Operation Highmast in December.

Bringing the carrier to this heightened state of preparedness demands remaining maintenance tasks be finished ahead of schedule.

The ship's company must be summoned back from leave and recalled from various training courses across the service.

Every system aboard requires thorough verification to confirm the vessel stands ready for operations at the highest level.

Notably, Prince of Wales already carries aircraft ordnance and munitions within her magazines, having embarked these stores during the previous year's deployment.

Her sister ship, HMS Queen Elizabeth, remains unavailable, with her docking and certification work at Rosyth running several months behind schedule.

Prince of Wales is one of the Royal Navy’s largest and most advanced warships, serving as the fleet’s flagship and a central element of the UK’s carrier strike capability.

Addressing the news, the Ministry of Defence has stressed that no decisions have yet been taken to deploy the ship.

“We have been bolstering our UK military presence in the Middle East since January, and we have already deployed capabilities to protect British people and our allies in the region, including Typhoons, F-35 jets, air defence systems and an extra 400 personnel into Cyprus," a spokesman said.

“Since the strikes began, we’ve had British jets in the sky shooting down drones and have sent additional assets to the region to further reinforce our air defences, including more Typhoons and Wildcat helicopters with drone-busting missiles.

“HMS Prince of Wales has always been on very high readiness and we are increasing the preparedness of the carrier, reducing the time it would take to set sail for any deployment.”

The 284-metre vessel displaces around 65,000 tonnes and can carry a core crew of roughly 700, rising to about 1,600 personnel when its full air wing is embarked.

Designed for global power projection, the carrier can travel at speeds of about 25 knots and operate across a range of combat and humanitarian missions.

The ship is built to deploy a powerful air group centred on the F-35B Lightning II stealth fighter, with capacity for up to 36 jets alongside helicopters such as the Merlin HM2 and AW159 Wildcat for anti-submarine warfare, surveillance and strike missions.

Its flight deck, equipped with a ski-jump ramp for short take-off aircraft, also supports large helicopters, including Chinooks and Apaches.

Onboard radars, close-in weapons systems and advanced command facilities allow the carrier to lead multinational task groups and conduct sustained air operations far from British shores.

Should the Government order the Prince of Wales to the eastern Mediterranean or further afield, securing adequate escorts presents an immediate difficulty.

HMS Duncan requires maintenance before any extended deployment despite recently being at sea.

Her refit will likely be expedited once HMS Dragon departs next week.

Last week, Sir Keir Starmer confirmed HMS Dragon would leave Portsmouth to protect British military personnel in Cyprus.

Helicopters with counter-drone capabilities will also form part of the contingent being deployed.

“The UK is fully committed to the security of Cyprus and British military personnel based there," the Prime Minister said on X.

“We’re continuing our defensive operations, and I’ve just spoken with the President of Cyprus to let him know that we are sending helicopters with counter-drone capabilities and HMS Dragon is to be deployed to the region."

"We will always act in the interest of the UK and our allies.”

HMS Dragon, a Type 45 destroyer, is the only vessel in the British arsenal with the ability to shoot down ballistic missiles.

Claims that delays in the ships employement were caused by necessary work only being done on a nine-to-five basis are not true, GB News understands.

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