HMS Prince of Wales is leading a multinational fleet comprising 15 ships in a significant NATO exercise.
During Exercise Nordic Responder 24, the aircraft carrier, accompanied by Swedish and Finnish jets flying in formation, participated alongside HMS Portland, the destroyer USS Paul Ignatius, and Norwegian vessels.
These units are engaged in Exercise Nordic Response 24, a comprehensive multi-domain exercise in the northern Nordic region running until Friday. According to the UK Ministry of Defence, the Carrier Strike Group (CSG) has been conducting F-35B strikes to simulate the defense of allied territory while simultaneously safeguarding itself.
Additionally, the Amphibious Task Group (ATG) has been practicing landing amphibious units ashore to recapture allied territory.
Participating nations in recent war games include the UK, United States, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, and Norway, with Belgium, Denmark, Estonia, Latvia, the Netherlands, Portugal, and Spain also joining.
Exercise Nordic Response 24 is part of Exercise Steadfast Defender 24, marking the largest NATO exercise in decades.
According to the Royal Navy, the aircraft carrier was joined by more than 30 ships, four submarines, multiple aircraft from maritime patrol to F-35 Lightning jets and more than 20,000 personnel from nations including Canada, Denmark, France and Spain.
“Joint Warrior is one part of NATO’s biggest exercise in a generation – Steadfast Defender. It was the UK-led phase of the exercise which saw surface, air and land scenarios played out to see how NATO nations and allied partners can work closely and react to hostilities.
“The Royal Navy’s Joint Exercise Training and Planning Staff (JTEPS) plans, delivers and executes such training with the aim of making it as real to life as possible.”
Commodore Andrew Ingham, Commander Fleet Operational Standards and Training, said: “JTEPS, as the formation level training arm of FOST, deliver high end and realistic multi-domain warfare training to UK, NATO and partner nation Maritime Task groups. By conducting large scale multinational exercises, such as Nordic Response, JTEPS are able to strive for maximum lethality and readiness.
“Through careful planning, effective orchestrating and detailed evaluation we are able to ensure that the alliance’s most powerful naval assets are consistently challenged against realistic and credible threat scenarios. Their work supporting the largest NATO exercise in 50 years is absolutely crucial to ensuring that we are prepared for the challenges and threats of modern era.”
