United Kingdom’s flagship carrier HMS Prince of Wales leads Strike Group heading to Darwin
A powerful British Carrier Strike Group is heading to Darwin. Find out why.
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A powerful British Carrier Strike Group is heading to Darwin.
The Strike Group is led by the United Kingdom’s flagship carrier HMS Prince of Wales and will be accompanied by the Royal Navy’s destroyer HMS Dauntless and frigate HMS Richmond. It will be the first time since in almost two decades that a British carrier will visit Australia.
Australian Minister for Defence Industry and Pacific Island Affairs Pat Conroy confirmed the Carrier Strike group’s Darwin visit and its participation in Exercise Talisman Sabre.
The Queen Elizabeth Class aircraft carrier is on an eight month overseas mission and is carrying up to two dozen Lockheed Martin F-35B Lightning II aircraft, including 809 Naval Air Squadron (NAS) “Immortals” and Royal Air Force (RAF) 617 Squadron “The Dambusters.” Nine Merlin anti-submarine warfare (ASW) helicopters from 820 NAS are also aboard, with three are designed for Airborne and Control (ASaC) operations.
The announcement also coincides with Defence Minister Richard Marles statements in Singapore at the weekend backing a call from US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth for America’s allies in the Asia-Pacific to do more to contribute to regional security, in part to counter China’s rapid military build-up.
In an address to the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore, Mr Hegseth said the threat posed by China to the region’s balance of power was real.
Defence Minister Richard Marles said Australia cannot rely on the United States alone to counter China’s military strength in the Indo-Pacific.
The UK Minister for Defence Procurement and Industry Maria Eagle at Fleet Base East who flew to Sydney in Sydney to review Australia–UK defence industry and capability collaboration and explore new opportunities said Britain is looking forward to Exercise Talisman Sabre.
“It’s just one more example of our defence co-operation,” Minister Eagle said.
“For the first time since 1997, a UK carrier, the HMS Prince of Wales will visit Australia docking in Darwin, and in the face of increasing global threats, the UK and Australia remain the greatest of friends, and among the closest of defence partners.”
Minister Conroy said Australia and the United Kingdom stand shoulder to shoulder against challenges to the rules-based global order.
“We’re very excited to see the carrier strike group in Australian waters.”
Exercise Talisman Sabre 2025 has 19 nations taking part.
It is a large-scale, multinational military exercise hosted by Australia.
It will be the eleventh iteration of the exercise and will focus on multi-domain war fighting, including land, air, sea, space, and cyber domains.
The exercise will involve more than 30,000 personnel and will take place from July 13 to August 4, 2025.
For the first time, Talisman Sabre 2025 will include activities in Papua New Guinea, in addition to areas across Australia.
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