The Royal Navy’s Carrier Strike Group, led by flagship HMS Prince of Wales, is set to begin a large-scale NATO training exercise in the Mediterranean as part of its headline global deployment for 2025. The operation, known as Exercise Med Strike, kicks off on 5 May and runs through 11 May, bringing together UK and NATO naval forces in a strategic show of strength and unity.
This marks a pivotal phase of Operation Highmast, an eight-month mission to the Indo-Pacific, designed to reinforce the UK’s commitment to global security, maritime freedom, and military cooperation. The UK Carrier Strike Group (CSG) has just arrived off Italy’s southern coast to begin the joint training exercise alongside allied forces.
NATO Allies Join Royal Navy for Mediterranean Naval Drill
Exercise Med Strike will see the UK CSG integrate with the Italian Navy’s Carrier Strike Group, led by ITS Cavour, in a high-intensity training scenario focused on anti-submarine warfare and joint air-sea coordination. A total of 21 warships, 3 submarines, 41 fast jets, 19 helicopters, and 10 maritime patrol aircraft, along with over 8,000 personnel from 10 NATO nations, will participate in the Ionian Sea near Taranto and Sicily.
Participating countries include the UK, Italy, United States, Canada, France, Norway, Portugal, Spain, and Türkiye. The involvement of advanced fifth-generation aircraft, such as the F-35B Lightning stealth fighters aboard HMS Prince of Wales, underscores the UK’s cutting-edge capabilities and interoperability within the alliance.
Royal Navy CSG Strengthens NATO Ties Through Operation Highmast
Commodore James Blackmore, Commander of the UK Carrier Strike Group, described the exercise as a defining moment in the 2025 global deployment. “Working at the heart of a powerful NATO force sends a strong message and shows clearly the phenomenal capabilities that not only the UK possesses but the alliance as a whole,” he said.
Prior to Med Strike, the CSG operated under NATO command during Exercise Neptune Strike, a key component of the alliance’s deterrence posture in the Euro-Atlantic region. During Neptune Strike, UK forces seamlessly integrated with units from Bulgaria, Greece, Romania, North Macedonia, and others, proving their readiness to respond to emerging global threats.
Global Operations to Continue Through 2025
The 2025 Carrier Strike Group deployment follows the inaugural CSG mission in 2021 led by HMS Queen Elizabeth. Unlike the earlier mission launched during the COVID-19 pandemic, Operation Highmast unfolds against a backdrop of growing geopolitical instability, especially in the Indo-Pacific.
Over the next eight months, the UK CSG will operate across the Mediterranean, Middle East, South-East Asia, Japan, and Australia. It will conduct exercises and joint missions with air, sea, and land forces from more than a dozen nations, affirming Britain’s global defence partnerships and trade interests.
A total of 4,500 UK military personnel are deployed, including nearly 600 RAF airmen, 900 British Army soldiers, and 2,500 Royal Navy sailors and Royal Marines.
