Flying home for Christmas: F-35s back at Marham after leaving Carrier Strike Group

Royal Navy flagship HMS Prince of Wales is making her way back to the UK at the end of her eight-month deployment – but some of her F-35Bs are already there.

The Lightnings are back at RAF Marham in Norfolk, having taken off from the carrier and received in-flight refuelling from a Voyager KC MK2 tanker en route.

Before their departure, the F-35Bs – and the Voyager – had been taking part in Exercise Falcon Strike.

• Three more F-35s set to land with Lightning Force, but four others to be delayed
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• Power at the helm: New skipper takes command of HMS Prince of Wales as CSG25 nears end

Lightnings united

Falcon Strike, which was hosted by the Italian air force, brought together participants from the UK, France, Greece and the United States.

The focus was on integrating fourth and fifth-generation aircraft, refining coalition tactics and strengthening logistics cooperation among F-35 users.

To this end, HMS Prince of Wales hosted a number of Italian navy F-35Bs, along with her own Lightnings and Merlin Mk2 helicopters.

All good things come to an end

Falcon Strike was the last exercise carried out during Operation Highmast, which has seen numerous allied vessels attached and detached at various points of the eight-month Carrier Strike Group 25 deployment.

The F-35s took off to make their way home while HMS Prince of Wales was in the Mediterranean, having transited the Suez Canal.

With the aircraft safely back in the UK, the carrier, accompanied by Type 45 Daring-class air defence destroyer HMS Dauntless and Type 23 frigate HMS Richmond, are also heading home.

The three vessels are due back in the UK shortly, with HMS Prince of Wales and HMS Dauntless heading for Portsmouth, while HMS Richmond will break off and head for Plymouth.

The Voyager

ZZ331, the aircraft that helped the Lightnings make their way to Marham, along with the rest of the Voyager fleet, represents the RAF's sole air-to-air refuelling tanker capability, but the type can also operate as a strategic air transporter.

The aircraft is in service as the Voyager KC Mk2, equipped with two underwing pods for refuelling fast jets like the F-35 and Typhoon, and as the Voyager KC Mk3, with an additional centreline hose for use by large aircraft.

The Voyager is based on the Airbus A330-200, and fuel is stored in existing tanks. This leaves the cabin available for up to 291 passengers and the cargo hold for freight.