Mission accomplished: CSG25 welcomed home with hugs, kisses, tears and cheers
Family members, friends and loved ones have welcomed home the thousands of service personnel returning back to the UK on Carrier Strike Group 25.
Personnel on the warships, their support ships, the F-35B Lightning jets and Wildcat and Merlin helicopters all dispersed to their home ports and bases – to be received by a mixture of cheers, hugs and kisses.
HMS Prince of Wales and Type 45 destroyer HMS Dauntless sailed into Portsmouth naval base after the arrival was brought forward because of heavy winds forecast for Monday.
Frigate HMS Richmond returned to HMNB Devonport, while HNoMS Roald Amundsen, who had accompanied CSG25, also sailed into Portsmouth.
The fast jet and helicopter crews were also reunited with their families at RAF Marham, RNAS Culdrose and RNAS Yeovilton.
More than 2,500 military personnel, made up of 2,100 Britons, 200 Norwegians and a similar number of Canadians and Spanish, were involved in the eight-month deployment, with the numbers rising to 4,500 during the main exercises.
Carrier Strike Group 25 achieved a number of feats since it deployed in April.
:: Its aircraft flew more than 2,500 sorties
:: Ships visited 12 countries and interacted with 30 nations
:: CSG25 operated with nine different carrier groups
:: British F-35B Lightning jets flew to four other aircraft carriers
:: The 24 F-35Bs on board HMS Prince of Wales marked the largest fifth-generation sovereign air wing embarked on any aircraft carrier
:: The Queen Elizabeth-class Carrier/Lightning Force achieved Full Operating Capability
:: Twenty-eight VVIPs were hosted
:: Some 4,230 registered visitors and guests were welcomed on board
:: Eighty-two UK companies used the ships to showcase their products at industry/export events with the prospect of generating more than £17bn for the UK economy
Carrier Strike Group 25 also achieved a number of firsts during its eight months away from the UK.
:: First F-35B to land on the Japanese ship Kaga
:: First aircraft carrier to dock in Tokyo and Singapore cruise liner terminals
:: First UK-India dual carrier exercise
:: First UK carrier group to visit Australia since 1997
:: First UK carrier group to take part in Exercise Bersama Lima, the Five Powers Defence Arrangement's main annual workout, since 1997
:: First Prime Minister to stay overnight on a Royal Navy warship in a generation
:: HNoMS Roald Amundsen sailed further east than any Norwegian warship before her and became the first to visit India, Japan and Singapore
:: Throughout, a UK Wildcat helicopter and crew were embarked, marking another first
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