HMS Prince of Wales captain says US deployment shows months in dry dock were not wasted
The Commanding Officer of HMS Prince of Wales says the ship's Westlant 23 deployment involved "many firsts" and has downplayed the length of time the vessel spent in dry dock for repairs.
The Royal Navy aircraft carrier has been training with US aircraft off America's east coast, which had to be delayed after the carrier broke down near the Isle of Wight last year after leaving Portsmouth to deploy to the US.
During months of repairs, Captain Richard Hewitt said the crew spent the time preparing and enhancing the ship's capability for the exercise.
The ship completed its thousandth aircraft landing, including more than 150 of the F-35.
The Royal Navy has been working to expand the operating limits of the jet, to develop advanced take-off and landing techniques, allowing the aircraft to launch with more weapons.
Captain Richard Hewitt addressed the prior length of time the ship was out of action for repairs and stressed: "Prince of Wales remained in dry dock for just under eight months, which actually, relative to the life of the ship, which this ship will be in commission for 50 years, is a relatively short period.
"The time spent there was to correct a mechanical defect, but the time was not wasted.
"Eight months was also spent correcting and rectifying that defect, but also enhancing Prince of Wales' capability for Westlant 23 and more importantly, when she assumes the fleet flagship role and the very high readiness carrier for the Royal Navy."
American F-35Bs completed the first shipborne rolling vertical landings (SRVL) on the vessel in October.
The world's first night-time F-35 SRVL was made on HMS Prince of Wales fewer than two weeks later.
When asked about his highlights of the deployment, Captain Richard Hewitt said: "Deploying in any Royal Naval warship is a very special moment and is rewarding both for myself and the ship's company.
"In the time of Prince of Wales deploying for Westlant 23, that has included many firsts, whether it be taking the F-35 through its net advancement as part of development testing three, and also autonomy and the two uncrewed vessels we've both launched and recovered to Prince of Wales during our three-and-a-half-month deployment.
"In the case of numbers, there's many firsts. It's our thousandth landing. We've completed Joint Westlant 23, which in total, is 3,000 landings in Prince of Wales' lifetime.
"We've completed over 150 landings of the F-35. And now looking further ahead, as we return back to Portsmouth, it'll be the longest this ship has been deployed - for over 100 days from UK waters."
HMS Prince of Wales is set to return to the UK by Christmas.
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