WESTLANT 22

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HMS Prince of Wales heads across Atlantic for landmark aviation trials


Britain’s biggest warship has sailed from Portsmouth on a landmark mission to shape the future of stealth jet and drone operations off the coast of North America and in the Caribbean.
HMS Prince of Wales will cross the Atlantic with her task group, ready to push the boundaries of uncrewed technology and the tactics used by the UK’s two new Queen Elizabeth-class carriers.

Along with notable port stops in New York, Halifax in Canada, and the Caribbean, the next three months will see the Prince of Wales task group work closely with US allies, operating F-35B jets and uncrewed systems which will define Royal Navy aviation of the future.

With fleet flagship HMS Queen Elizabeth also set to deploy to the Mediterranean and Baltic this autumn at the heart of a potent Royal Navy task group, it will mean both UK aircraft carriers will be operating F-35B jets thousands of miles apart.

Commanding Officer, Captain Richard Hewitt, said: “Taking the HMS Prince of Wales task group across the Atlantic for the rest of this year will not only push the boundaries of UK carrier operations, but will reinforce our close working relationship with our closest Ally.

“From operating the F35 Lightnings and drones to hosting the Atlantic Future Forum, none of this would be possible without the efforts of the amazing sailors on board, many of which are on their first deployment with the Royal Navy.”

The 65,000-tonne warship deploys initially alongside frigate HMS Richmond, tanker RFA Tideforce and an air group of helicopters and drones, before F-35B stealth fighters join the deployment once the ship arrives in North America for the Westlant 22 deployment.

Continues at - https://www.royalnavy.mod.uk/news-and-l ... s-atlantic

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HMS Prince of Wales suffers technical issue after sailing from Portsmouth


HMS Prince of Wales sailed from Portsmouth yesterday for a 4-month deployment to the United States but soon after departure experienced a significant technical fault.

She is currently at anchor south east of the Isle of Wight and divers have been inspecting the ship below the waterline. Unconfirmed reports say there is damage to the starboard propeller shaft but as is usual, official sources will not comment in detail on the material state of the ship. It may be unrelated but the wake visible in the photo above, taken as she sailed yesterday, appears to indicate only the port shaft turning.

An RN spokesperson said today “The ship is receiving external support for ongoing investigations”. For now at least, the official line is that the deployment is still on, they added: “Having successfully sailed from Portsmouth, HMS PRINCE OF WALES remains in the South Coast Exercise Area. We expect her to continue her WESTLANT 22 deployment as planned in the coming days.”

Continues at - https://www.navylookout.com/hms-prince- ... ortsmouth/

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Royal Navy’s Westlant 22 deployment begins


HMS Prince of Wales sailed from Portsmouth today for the east coast of the United States where she will conduct further F-35 flying trials and experimentation with uncrewed aircraft.


HMS Prince of Wales will make her first trip to the US following the pattern of the Westlant 18 and Westlant 19 deployments that saw HMS Queen Elizabeth make diplomatic visits, exercise with the USN and conduct developmental flying. She will also stop in New York, Halifax, Canada and make the first visit to the Caribbean by a QEC carrier.

While in New York, the carrier will host the next Atlantic Future Forum in New York (28-29 September) an annual conference that brings together influential thinkers from defence and industry in the US and UK to discuss shared security and military issues. PWLS will remain at high readiness throughout her time in the US to be diverted for urgent operations if required in her role as NATO’s command ship.

Continues at - https://www.navylookout.com/royal-navys ... nt-begins/

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Aircraft carrier HMS Prince of Wales is feared to have suffered damage to her propellor shaft near the Isle of Wight.


The warship is now at anchor as the potential damage is inspected. I contacted the Ministry of Defence and was told.
“Having sailed from Portsmouth, HMS PRINCE OF WALES remains in the South Coast Exercise Area.”
A source told me that divers were sent down to determine what was wrong after issues were noticed onboard, and once they returned, the divers had concerns over the starboard propellor shaft. I was told that the shaft itself appears to be damaged, but I don’t believe it’s appropriate to comment on the extent of any potential damage at this stage, given the specifics of any damage cannot be confirmed.
It is currently unknown if the vessel will have to go alongside to correct the issue.
Continues at - https://ukdefencejournal.org.uk/hms-pri ... XPf8MORPGQ

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From wake to wait, to be continued.

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1100 TODAY - HMS Prince of Wales remains at anchor off the Isle of Wight this morning.
Specialist divers and engineers to make further inspections and determine whether dry docking is required.

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HMS PWLS is moving from the Sandown anchorage this afternoon to C- anchorage in Stokes Bay - a more sheltered area so divers can conduct inspections

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Royal Navy

Rear Admiral Steve Moorhouse updates on the situation with HMS PWLS:
“I’ve been to the ship today to see for myself what the issue is and how we in the Royal Navy can work together to make sure that the ship can successfully return to her tasking.”
Listen to video at - https://twitter.com/RoyalNavy/status/15 ... 4072642560

P.o.W. has now been moved to C-Anchorage in Stokes Bay for further inspection work.

Also - https://ukdefencejournal.org.uk/confirm ... 9A3uS8ttnA

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British carrier likely to head to Amsterdam for repairs

Sources onboard HMS Prince of Wales have told the UK Defence Journal that the damaged aircraft carrier will likely head to a drydock in Amsterdam for repairs.

Multiple independent sources have told me that it is believed that the warship’s propellor hit something on the sea bed.
“Either the propellor hit the floor or something on it. Definitely dry docking needed, and Amsterdam is being touted as an easier option than Rosyth.”
Earlier this year, a £30 million contract for dry-dock maintenance for the Queen Elizabeth Class aircraft carriers was awarded to Babcock at Rosyth. The contract covers routine and emergency dry-docking periodically throughout the carrier’s lives to undertake maintenance and repair activities.
Amsterdam in this case is closer and easier to get to, but this has yet to be officially confirmed.

Continues at - https://ukdefencejournal.org.uk/british ... 92h2YxsmbI

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For this Forum only.

A. For those who might be interested, we spent forever in the Thales design suit in the Bristol Office in 2000/2001 arguing pods vs shafts, Electriic vs direct drive, 4 props vs 2 or 3 or whatever. In the end we chose 2 shaft driven props...for simplicity and reliability. Both QE and PoW have had drive problems....how's that for fate.... Incidentally I believe Ark Royal (of 'We are Sailing' fame) sailed her final mission with only 3 out of 4 shafts operating.. in about 1978.

B. Invincible sailed out of Portsmouth for the Falklands War in 82 with one shaft needing replacing...which was done “over the horizon” after the flag waving goodbye.

A. The preferred civilian solution is electric drive azipods. QE Class had triple electric azipods at one stage during the design evolution (QE Class is the Delta version at ~ 65000tonnes. Alpha was 90000tonnes, Beta and Gamma were relatively small and along the lines of Ocean Plus, Plus}. However after considerable debate QE Class shock requirements were increased (Ocean had no shock capability) ... Also, Azipods are not easy to shock harden. Together with the known unreliability of azipods slewing bearings, conventional shafts and rudders were specified. This is a very brief answer to a massive subject.