Click here - to select or create a menu

Naval News

Palfinger
  • News
  • Event News
    • Indo Pacific 2022
    • Sea Air Space 2022
    • DIMDEX 2022
    • WDS 2022
    • DSEI 2021
    • MADEX 2021
  • Interviews
  • Videos
  • Advertising
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
Home» News»HMS Prince of Wales assumes flagship role of NATO Maritime High Readiness Force
HMS Prince of Wales assumes flagship role of NATO Response Force
After assuming the command ship role, NATO batch is located near the pennant number (Royal Navy photo)

HMS Prince of Wales assumes flagship role of NATO Maritime High Readiness Force

The Royal Navy's newest aircraft carrier, HMS Prince of Wales, assumed the command of the NATO Response Force in Portsmouth Naval Base on Tuesday, January 11.

Naval News Staff 12 Jan 2022

Royal Navy press release

The Royal Navy today took charge of NATO’s most important task force with a ceremony aboard the aircraft carrier HMS Prince of Wales in Portsmouth.

For the next 12 months it is responsible for leading the alliance’s Maritime High Readiness Force – an international task group formed to deal with major global events.

The most senior sea-going staff in the Royal Navy – Commander UK Strike Force, headed by Rear Admiral Mike Utley – takes charge of the force, with HMS Prince of Wales serving as NATO Command Ship, ready to deploy in support of NATO exercises and operations throughout the year.

Those will include major workouts for British and allied forces in the Arctic at the end of the winter, Baltic in the summer, and an extensive deployment to the Mediterranean in the autumn.

To mark the formal transfer of command from the French Navy, the NATO flag was raised aboard the carrier today during a 30-minute ceremony – shifted to the carrier’s aft hangar rather than the flight deck due to thick fog in Portsmouth – attended by defence attachés and military representatives from across the alliance.

Fleet Commander, Vice Admiral Andrew Burns, inspected some of the ship’s company and Royal Marines Band before Captain Steve Higham, Prince of Wales’ Commanding Officer, addressed those present.

Both the ship and the staff of Commander UK Strike Force underwent thorough training and preparations for the complex challenge of directing a large, multi-national naval force.

“Our battle staff have been preparing for this responsibility over the last 12 months by exercising and developing the capabilities required, which culminated in NATO Dynamic Mariner exercise in September 2021. This exercise demonstrated to our NATO Allies that the UK’s Carrier Strike capability will strengthen NATO countries’ long-term ability to work side-by-side and our commitment to each other.”


Rear Admiral Mike Utley, Commander UK Strike Force

As well as a test of the battle staff, it will be the first test of HMS Prince of Wales since the carrier was declared fully operational at the beginning of autumn following two intensive years of trials and training.

Those eventful 12 months saw him pass out of Dartmouth before being assigned to HMS Prince of Wales for the past couple of months.

The ship is due to sail tomorrow, raising the curtain of a demanding year in the waters of the Atlantic, northern Europe, and the Mediterranean.

U.S. Navy Destroyer Assumes Air Defense Duties as Part of Carrier Strike Group 21
HMS Prince of Wales and HMS Queen Elizabeth pictured at sea for the first time with USS The Sullivans.

First, up is leading naval involvement in Cold Response 22, a large-scale Norwegian-led NATO exercise that will be used to evaluate Rear Admiral Utley and his staff as the Commander of the NATO Response Force.

As the year moves on, the staff will also help train and ready the Turkish Navy who will assume command of the NRF from the UK in 2023.

HMS Prince of Wales NATO Royal Navy 2022-01-12
Tags HMS Prince of Wales NATO Royal Navy
Facebook Twitter Stumble linkedin Pinterest More

Authors

Posted by : Naval News Staff

Related Articles

Royal Navy and JMSDF conduct drills in English Channel

Royal Navy and JMSDF conduct drills in English Channel

Naval News Staff 22 Jun 2022
Royal Navy's River-class patrol ship HMS Mersey and Echo-class survey vessel HMS Enterprise carried out bilateral exercises with JMDSF ships JS Kashima and JS Shimakaze off the Dorset coast in the English Channel.
HMS Audacious Completes 1st NATO Patrol in Mediterranean

HMS Audacious Completes 1st NATO Patrol in Mediterranean

Naval News Staff 16 Jun 2022
The Royal Navy’s newest and most advanced nuclear attack submarine, HMS Audacious, carried out NATO security patrols in the Mediterranean on her maiden operational deployment.
NATO Ships exercise with JMSDF in the Mediterranean Sea

NATO Ships exercise with JMSDF in the Mediterranean Sea

Naval News Staff 10 Jun 2022
Standing NATO Maritime Group Two (SNMG2) ships conducted joint training exercises with JMSDF ships in the Mediterranean Sea on June 6.

Advertisement

Advertisement

Legal / Privacy Policy
About Us
Contact Us

Copyright © 2022 Naval News
All Rights Reserved