Royal Navy flagship HMS Prince of Wales has arrived at HMAS Connawarra in Darwin, the first time this century a British aircraft carrier has visited Australia.
Jets of water were fired from a tug’s cannons in salute and welcome as the carrier sailed into the north Australian port on Wednesday. The last Royal Navy aircraft carrier to visit the Commonwealth and AUKUS ally was HMS Illustrious in 1997 when she sailed into Fremantle.
HMS Prince of Wales’ arrival in Darwin marks the end of her involvement in Talisman Sabre 2025, the bilateral U.S.-Australian multi-domain exercise now in its 11th iteration.
The largest such exercise staged to date, it runs until August 4 and by its end will have involved 19 nations and around 35,000 military personnel.
The RN flagship is heading up the U.K. Carrier Strike Group (CSG) on Operation Highmast, an eight-month deployment to the Indo-Pacific region.
During Talisman Sabre 2025 the U.K. CSG has been sailing off Australia’s northern coast for the past couple of weeks, at times operating in conjunction with the USS George Washington carrier group.
As per the latest RN statement, the British carrier has also played host to members of the U.S. Marine Corps, who landed two MV-22 Ospreys onto her flight deck.
- You can read more details on the Royal Navy website