【Text by Observer News, Mountain Cat】According to the U.S. maritime website "The Maritime Executive", on July 1st, the British aircraft carrier strike group (UKCSG), led by the "Queen Elizabeth"-class aircraft carrier "Prince of Wales" (R09), has recently completed a one-week port visit and left Singapore, heading further east towards Indonesia, to participate in a series of multinational exercises in Australia.
On June 29th, the "Prince of Wales" aircraft carrier departed from the Marina Bay Cruise Centre in Singapore, heading towards the waters near Indonesia. Social media
During the time the "Prince of Wales" was berthed at the Marina Bay Cruise Centre, some of its accompanying ships were stationed at other nearby Singaporean naval bases. In addition, the 23rd Type frigate F239 "Richmond" and the Spanish Navy's "Bazán" class frigate F104 "Méndez Núñez" arrived at Jakarta Port, the capital of Indonesia, on the 25th of last month, staying until the 1st of this month. The route of the strike group towards Indonesia is likely to be to rendezvous with the above two ships after they concluded their visits.
Currently, the "Prince of Wales" strike group includes the 45th Type destroyer D33 "Daring", the 23rd Type frigate "Richmond", the "Tide" class supply ship A136 "Spring Tide" (or "Tide Spring"), a "Astute" class nuclear submarine, as well as the Spanish Navy's "Bazán" class frigate F104 "Méndez Núñez", the Canadian Navy's "Halifax" class frigate FFH-332 "Quebec City", the Norwegian Navy's "Nansen" class frigate F311 "Roald Amundsen", and the New Zealand Navy's "Anzac" class frigate F77 "Tikahana", among at least four allied naval frigates. Additionally, there is also a Norwegian Navy A530 "Queen Maud" supply ship, and more Australian Navy vessels may join the formation later.
According to the plan, the British aircraft carrier formation will participate in the "Talisman Sabre 2025" multinational exercise hosted by Australia this month. This series of exercises are held every two years and mainly involve the United States, Australia, and other countries, covering multiple fields and subjects on land, sea, and air. According to reports, the "Prince of Wales" will dock at Darwin Port in Australia during the exercise. After the end of this exercise, the "Prince of Wales" strike group will head north to visit ports in South Korea and Japan for joint exercises. Reports state that which ships in the formation will pass through the so-called "international waters" of the Taiwan Strait during their northern journey is a "key point along the way".
Previously, one of the formation's F-35B aircraft made an emergency landing in India on June 14 due to a fault, and it has remained at the Trivandrum Airport in Kerala since then. Initially, the British pilot refused to leave the plane due to confidentiality reasons, refused to let Indian personnel approach, and rejected the hangar promised by India. Subsequently, the UK airlifted a tow truck and over 40 engineers to the site to repair the hydraulic system of the aircraft.
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