Storbritannien skickar hangarfartyg till Arktis

HMS Prince of Wales (R09) is the second Queen Elizabeth-class aircraft carrier and the Fleet Flagship of the Royal Navy. Prince of Wales is not fitted with catapults and arrestor wires, being designed to operate STOVL aircraft. She carries up to 48 F-35B Lightning II stealth multirole fighters and Merlin helicopters for airborne early warning and anti-submarine warfare. In surge conditions she is capable of supporting 70+ F-35B. The design emphasises flexibility, with accommodation for 250 Royal Marines and the ability to support them with attack helicopters and troop transports. The completed Prince of Wales began sea trials in September 2019 and first arrived at her new home base of HMNB Portsmouth in November 2019. The ship was formally commissioned into the Royal Navy at a ceremony in Portsmouth on 10 December 2019. The ship's commissioning date marked the 78th anniversary of the sinking of her predecessor, a World War II era battleship which was lost in action along with HMS Repulse in 1941. She is the eighth Royal Navy ship to have the name HMS Prince of Wales. Construction of the ship began in 2011 at Rosyth Dockyard and ended with launch on 21 December 2017. She was handed over to the Royal Navy in 2019. When on operations, Prince of Wales has formed a central part of a UK Carrier Strike Group, comprising escorts and support ships, with the aim to facilitate carrier-enabled power projection.