The Royal Navy is preparing to deploy the largest maritime force of British combat jets since the Falklands war.
The Ministry of Defence (MoD) has confirmed that Royal Navy flagship HMS Prince of Wales will sail from Portsmouth in the next two weeks to join a strike group of warships, supply vessels and a Royal Navy attack submarine.
The MoD said the giant 70,000 tonne carrier would embark up to 24 fifth-generation F-35B jets for the British-led mission to the Mediterranean and Indo-Pacific.
The two squadrons of stealth combat jets will mark the biggest maritime deployment of British military jets since the conflict in the South Atlantic more than four decades ago.
The Ministry of Defence (MoD) has confirmed that Royal Navy flagship HMS Prince of Wales will sail from Portsmouth in the next two weeks to join a strike group of warships, supply vessels and a Royal Navy attack submarine
PAThe carrier will also embark up to a dozen Merlin, Wildcat and Chinook helicopters, as well as a squadron of drones.
The deployment of UAVs (Unmanned Aerial Vehicles) marks a first for the UK military, with the Prince of Wales carrying nine octo-copters.
The drones will ferry mail, engineering components and other smaller items between the various ships in the strike group.
Final preparations are underway for the multinational deployment, which will see HMS Prince of Wales meet up with other vessels in the strike group off Cornwall, before heading first to the Mediterranean and later to the Indian Ocean.
Around 2,500 personnel from the Royal Navy and 592 from the Royal Air Force will be involved in the eight-month deployment, named operation Highmast.
The strike group will conduct exercises and port visits with nations, including the US, India, Singapore, and Malaysia.
They will be joined by 900 personnel from the British Army for exercises during the deployment.
The Indo-Pacific is seen as a critical region for UK trade, worth more than £286 billion last year alone.
The UK's Defence Secretary John Healey said: “I want to thank the thousands of our Armed Forces personnel involved in the delivery of this immensely complex operation, demonstrating the UK’s world-leading capability to deploy a major military force around the world.
“This is a unique opportunity for the UK to operate in close coordination with our partners and allies in a deployment that not only shows our commitment to security and stability, but also provides an opportunity to bolster our own economy and boost British trade and exports.
“As one of only a handful of countries in the world able to lead a deployment of this scale, the Royal Navy is once again demonstrating its formidable capability while protecting British values and sending a powerful message of deterrence to any adversary.”
Royal Navy aircraft carrier HMS Prince of Wales PAAnother 12 nations are supporting the deployment.
Norway will provide a warship and a logistics support vessel for the entire duration of the deployment.
Canada and Spain will also deploy frigates to support the strike group.
The carrier group will initially be placed under NATO command as it joins a major exercise to test the Alliance’s ability to use high-end maritime strike capabilities, including multiple aircraft carrier and amphibious strike groups.
The carrier group will transit though the Indian Ocean, conducting exercises and port visits, before joining 19 other nations for another major exercise near Australia.
The British-led strike group will also train alongside the Japan's defence forces and conduct a port visit to India.
Thousands of family members of those deploying on the carrier-strike group mission are expected to gather in Portsmouth to wave off Britain's flagship as she leaves her home port on 22 April.
