Epic Fury: Here's why the UK can't just send HMS Prince of Wales to the Gulf
Downing Street has played down the idea that one of the UK's 65,000-tonne aircraft carriers, HMS Prince of Wales, is being readied to defend Britons in the Middle East.
There were reports that the Royal Navy's flagship could be sent to the Eastern Mediterranean over the weekend, as she had been placed on advanced readiness.
The Ministry of Defence said that the carrier, which cost £3.5bn, had her deployment notice cut from 14 to five days, amid criticism of the UK's readiness in response to the war between the US, Israel and Iran.
In response to imminent deployment rumours, the Prime Minister's official spokesman said: "HMS Prince of Wales has always been on very high readiness.
"The MOD is increasing the preparedness of the carrier, reducing the time it would take to set sail for any deployment, but there is no decision to deploy her."
The vessel, which has a flight deck that is 280 metres long, was originally slated to lead a Carrier Strike Group, known as Operation Firecrest, to the High North, before it was suggested that she could be moved to another region.
BFBS Forces News spoke to Vice Admiral (Ret'd) Duncan Potts, director of Universal Defence & Security Solutions, about the possible deployment of HMS Prince of Wales and what is needed to defend such a vessel.
The vessels and aircraft needed to deploy
Given the size of aircraft carriers and their capabilities, it is not as simple as sending out the vessel by herself, as she needs various ships, or a battlegroup, to help her during her deployment; much like a shark traversing the ocean with its remoras that attach to it to clean it.
Speaking about what an aircraft carrier needs to deploy, Vice Adm (Ret'd) Potts said: "Typically, putting together a carrier battlegroup will be done, depending upon the environment it's going to operate. And in this context, the threat environment there, which will primarily come from the air.
"So, if I was to point to that part of the world, you would want it to be under the area defence umbrella of a Type 45 destroyer [like HMS Dragon]."
Type 45 destroyer HMS Dragon is currently being loaded with weaponry in Portsmouth ahead of being sent to the Mediterranean this week.
Alongside the vessels, the aircraft carrier will need to be sent to whichever region she is going to with aircraft needed for her mission – be that F-35s or Typhoons.
"To deploy usefully, it will, by definition, need an air group there. And that's a group there, which will be a mixture of capabilities, including rotary wing, very much adding to force protection, especially in surface surveillance, anti-submarine warfare, contributing to anti-inshore fast attack craft," the former Royal Navy officer with 39 years' experience told BFBS Forces News reporter Sofie Cacoyannis.
He also said that many aircraft carrier deployments require Nato support.
Sustaining the vessel
As with any other vessel sailing the open ocean, she would need to be able to keep herself going and ready for any eventuality while she is at sea.
"So, you need to be able to look after yourself and sustain yourself," VAdm (Ret'd) Potts explained.
"So, to send an aircraft carrier, typically, it will need to go with an assured supply of fuel. And depending upon the threat, it will need a range of capabilities to go with it to be able to keep it safe and secure."
Gap in naval capability
US president Donald Trump had condemned the UK for its reluctance to join the US-led conflict in the Middle East, after reports that HMS Prince of Wales could be sent to the region surfaced.
Mr Trump said "we don't need them any longer" and "we don't need people that join wars after we've already won!"
On the subject of the UK's readiness and agility in light of the Iran conflict, he said: "I think you can surmise from the length of time it's taken to deploy [HMS] Dragon, that it's not as though there's a lot of high readiness.
"As we know, the Navy is small at the moment."
VAdm (Ret'd) Potts stated that the Royal Navy is in a "gap" before its new warships become fully operational, such as the Type 26 and Type 45s, which are having a propulsion upgrade.
"I suspect that the options are somewhat limited," he concluded.
Additional reporting by Sofie Cacoyannis.
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