HMS Prince of Wales Fills Void in Mediterranean as USS Ford Heads West

 

The UK carrier strike group (CSG) led by HMS Prince of Wales (R09) having transited the Suez Canal and is now in the central Mediterranean and participating in the early phases of the Italian-led Exercise Falcon Strike 25. During a pause in Souda Bay, command of Prince of Wales was passed from Captain Will Blackett to Captain Ben Power, and the frigate HMS Richmond took the opportunity to conduct anti-submarine warfare with the Greek Navy.

Prince of Wales is now in the sea space vacated by USS Gerald R. Ford (CVN-78), which sailed through the Straits of Gibraltar and into the Atlantic on November 5, preceded by the Arleigh Burke Class guided missile destroyer USS Bainbridge (DDG-96) and the fast combat support ship USNS Supply (T-AOE-6). Ford has reportedly been ordered to head towards Venezuela, although online spotters have identified that she appears to be lingering near Africa.

 

Task force heading through the Suez Canal (Sjøforsvaret - Norwegian Armed Forces)

 

The UK CSG now comprises Norwegian Nansen Class frigate HNoMS Roald Amundsen (F311), Type 45 destroyer HMS Dauntless (D33), Type 23 frigate HMS Richmond (F239), the Italian Carlo Bergamini Class frigate ITS Luigi Rizzo (F595) and the fleet resupply ship RFA Tideforce (A139). RFA Tideforce came through the Suez Canal from the Mediterranean into the Red Sea in order to support the CSG when it made the Suez transit.

Falcon Strike 25 is a two-week complex joint exercise involving both ground-based air and sea forces from Italy, Greece, Norway, the United Kingdom and the United States. For the exercise, Prince of Wales will for the first time have on board its full complement of F-35B aircraft, which will operate with Harrier aircraft from the Italian Navy.