The Royal Navy aircraft carrier HMS Prince of Wales is leaving the UK to take part in exercises with the the F-35 stealth jet. The 65,000-tonne vessel will sail out from the Portsmouth naval base around lunchtime tomorrow (August 26) to head for the east coast of the United States.
The £3.2bn ship, which began its sea trials in 2019, has a 700-strong crew and is a Nato command vessel. It will carry out trials with the F-35 stealth jet, the most advanced warplane ever built, as part of the Westlant series of exercises and is expected to remain at sea for several months.
HMS Prince of Wales has a flight deck measuring 280 metres in length and 70 metres wide. It recently completed a Nato mission alongside the Spanish aircraft carrier Juan Carlos I in the Gulf of Cadiz. The Nato task force is made up of 20 ships from six nations. As a Nato command ship, HMS Prince of Wales is prepared to deploy rapidly as part of the alliance’s response force.
The aircraft carrier is capable of embarking 36 F-35s and four Merlin Helicopters. Its commanding officer is Captain Richard Hewitt OBE, who was born in Stafford and now lives with his wife and three boys in South Hams, Devon.
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