The UK-led Carrier Strike Group has successfully completed its first major exercise of an eight-month global deployment to demonstrate its maritime defence capabilities alongside Nato allies.
HMS Prince of Wales led the multinational task group in Exercise Neptune Strike as part of Operation Highmast.
The exercise saw the Carrier Strike Group shift from the UK to Nato Command as it entered the Mediterranean region.
Nearly 4,000 British personnel are supporting the deployment, which will continue for the next eight months.
The UK-led Carrier Strike Group has successfully completed its first major exercise of an eight-month global deployment to demonstrate its maritime defence capabilities alongside Nato allies
UK Defence Journal
Minister for the Armed Forces Luke Pollard said: "Barely a week into its deployment, the Carrier Strike Group is already demonstrating both the military power that keeps us safe at home and our close integration with allies that means we're strong abroad.
"Over the next eight months, the UK-led task group will further showcase our global network of partnerships and alliances, none more crucial to our security than Nato."
The exercise forms part of Nato's mission to maintain security in the Euro-Atlantic area.
It aims to deter any aggressor who might threaten freedom of navigation and send a powerful message.
Spanish frigate Méndez Núñez and Norwegian ships HNoMS Maud and HNoMS Roald Amundsen joined the UK vessels ahead of Neptune Strike.
During the exercise, they were further joined by Allied forces from Greece, France, Italy, Romania, Bulgaria, Portugal, North Macedonia, Turkey, Canada and the US.
Neptune Strike is the first in a series of Nato activities planned during the Carrier Strike Group's time in the Mediterranean and Atlantic.
These exercises will build towards a large-scale exercise at the end of Operation Highmast.
The exercise saw the Carrier Strike Group shift from the UK to Nato Command as it entered the Mediterranean regio
UK Defence Journal
LATEST DEVELOPMENTS
The Prime Minister, speaking when recently visiting HMS Prince of Wales
PAThe Prime Minister recently visited HMS Prince of Wales, following the commitment earlier this year to increase defence spending to 2.5 per cent of GDP.
The air wing aboard HMS Prince of Wales includes 24 Royal Air Force F-35B Lightning fighter jets. The F-35B programme has created 20,000 jobs across the UK.
Royal Navy Merlin and Wildcat helicopters also form part of the carrier's air wing. Together, these aircraft support 1,000 UK jobs.
As the Carrier Strike Group continues its global journey, it will further demonstrate the capabilities that underpin the UK's security and international influence.
