Dispatches from CSG 25 No. 1 – Phase Zero: Preparation

By the time you read this, the UK Carrier Strike Group will have formed up and embarked on Carrier Strike Group 2025 – Operation HIGHMAST. This is the third deployment of a full Carrier Strike Group. The aim is to reach Full Operational Capability for a Queen Elizabeth-class aircraft carrier, escorting destroyers and frigates, support shipping and an embarked air wing of F-35B Lightning II jets with rotary wing aircraft. For Operation HIGHMAST, the Fleet flagship HMS Prince of Wales will be escorted by units from across the NATO Alliance, to be joined later in the deployment by other Allies an…