UK Carrier Strike Group Returns from Arctic Deployment, Conducted NATO Air Policing Against Russian Aircraft
HMS Prince of Wales returned to Portsmouth on July 24, 2026, after a three-month deployment on NATO's Northern Flank under Operation Firecrest. The UK Carrier Strike Group, including destroyer HMS Duncan and tanker RFA Tidespring, conducted NATO's Iceland air policing mission from the carrier's deck for the first time by a European carrier, safeguarding Arctic skies from Russian aircraft incursions. The group also executed NATO's Arctic Sentry vigilance activity and concluded with Exercise Neptune Strike, involving ten NATO allies. During Neptune Strike, F-35B jets from 809 Naval Air Squadron, supported by RAF Voyager and Italian tankers, conducted long-range sorties as far as Poland. The deployment included exercises with 19 allies, submarine hunting, and combined aviation operations. The group will resume operations in northern European waters in autumn after maintenance.
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