The gray outline of a Marine V-22 Osprey falls from the sky and takes up position next to the flight deck of Britain’s largest aircraft carrier.
With a spotter hanging from the open door, the American test pilot swings the tail of the aircraft and lowers it vertically until it lands precisely in the rear corner of the HMS Prince of Wales.
The flight deck already bears the burn marks of dozens of landings by F-35 fighter jets from weeks of testing.
A day earlier, a Mojave unmanned aircraft took off and landed – the largest drone ever to fly from a European ship.
This is the future of naval warfare. Two allies with interchangeable hardware work together to expand their reach and capabilities.
HMS Prince of Wales is the Royal Navy’s newest aircraft carrier and largest warship. It has been off the east coast of the United States since September, training with American aircrews
An American MV-22 Osprey from the HX-21 Test Squadron lands on the flight deck with its unique tiltrotor design. The tests are part of the Royal Navy’s expansion of capabilities
“If we focus on the INDOPACOM area, where the geography and the range of these assets, you’re talking about tremendous space … the utility of these airframes is immense,” Captain Richard Hewitt told , using an acronym for the Indo -Pacific Command.
For two decades, Western forces focused on fighting insurgents on Afghan mountainsides or in dusty Middle Eastern villages.
Today, the focus of attention is increasingly on China and its massive efforts to increase its influence in the Indian Ocean and the Western Pacific.
The Prince of Wales will soon play a key role in this geopolitical dispute.
Next year she will take over from her sister ship, HMS Queen Elizabeth, the role of the British aircraft carrier with a very high operational readiness. A year later, she was assigned to lead an aircraft carrier attack in the region.
She has been off the east coast of the USA since September and is working with US test pilots.
Some of the most exciting moments involved the F-35s operating in “beast mode” – packing 22,000 pounds of destructive power, including air-to-air and air-to-surface missiles.
They performed their first “rolling” landings by slowly approaching the flight deck to land, rather than using their ability to hover alongside the ship before descending vertically.
This means they can return to the aircraft carrier with a heavier load instead of throwing away unused fuel or expensive ammunition.
Captain Richard Hewitt said it was a tribute to the ship’s company that it was working with U.S. forces in the North Atlantic so soon after leaving dry dock
The osprey’s unique shape is easy to recognize. It can take off vertically like a helicopter before tilting its rotors forward to fly like a fixed-wing aircraft
A crew member keeps a lookout as the Osprey approaches the flight deck
HMS Prince of Wales has two “islands”. The flight control tower is in the stern, the bridge and captain’s quarters are in the front. The aft island can command the ship if the bridge is damaged
HMS Prince of Wales: The numbers behind the colossal aircraft carrier
Cost: $4 billion
Weight: 72,000 tons
Crew: 1,600 when fully operational.
Dimensions: More than 900 feet long and 230 feet wide
Speed: Top speed of 28 miles per hour. Can travel 500 miles per day.
Fighter aircraft: 36 F35-B Lightning IIs, brought up from below in 60 seconds
Weapons: Weapon system capable of firing 3,000 rounds per minute.
Radars: Long-range tracking of 1,000 air targets from 250 nautical miles; Medium-range radars can track a bullet-sized target from 12 miles away.
“It came sideways,” Hewitt said. “We managed to land with full fuel.”
The Prince of Wales and her sister are Britain’s largest warships of all time. At 920 feet long (the crew of the Prince of Wales likes to say that their ship is actually three feet longer than HMS Queen Elizabeth, even though it is built to the same design) and 230 feet wide, the central hangar offers Space for two of the Navy’s Royal Frigates.
But the route to exercises about 100 miles off North Carolina wasn’t easy. For a decade in the 2010s, what was once the world’s largest navy had no aircraft carriers at all.
And the decision to spend nearly $8 billion on two Queen Elizabeth-class ships appeared to be a mistake last year. Five years after its launch, the Prince of Wales broke down on the way to exercises with the US Navy.
A problem with her right propeller shaft resulted in her being in dry dock for almost a year, leading to inaccurate headlines that she would be mothballed.
Now she’s back and a key part of the Royal Navy’s push to punch above its weight, one of two platforms capable of working closely with NATO allies.
Hewitt said it is a fifth-generation warship, like the fighter jets it will carry. The upper decks are designed to get flight crews to the aircraft as efficiently as possible, while the lower decks are equipped with automated and autonomous systems that can operate with a reduced crew.
The flight deck is coated with a paint that can withstand 2700°F
The Captain’s Challenge Coin Collection. Since September, the HMS Prince of Wales has arrived off the US coast in cooperation with American pilots
The ship’s fire brigade takes part in an exercise. The training never ends on board the ship
Lieutenant James Holton is the ship’s second navigator. He is pictured here on the bridge
On Wednesday, she made a bit of history by launching the largest drone ever from a European warship.
General Atomics’ Mojave is based on the Reaper drone. But even with a 56-foot wingspan, it can land on a short runway in difficult conditions.
Rear Admiral James Parkin, who planned the test, said: “The success of this trial marks a new beginning in the way we conduct maritime aviation and is another exciting step in the evolution of the Royal Navy’s carrier strike group into one mixed manned and unmanned group. “Combat force.”
The highlight for the ship’s crew was the opportunity to see fully loaded F-35s come and go in “Beast” mode.
On the bridge, Lieutenant James Holton, second navigator, said: “I hate to say this, but everyone was humming the tune of Top Gun. It was truly a sight to behold.’
In front of him, an electronic display showed a gentle wind coming from the port side. The quartermaster sat at the central control panel, making tiny adjustments to keep the 65,000-ton ship on course and conditions consistent for the Osprey’s landing.
“Check quarters,” called the First Officer of the Watch, standing in his usual position in the middle of the bridge.
“Port free,” comes the answer from one side, mirrored by a lookout on the other.
The Osprey, with its twin wings and unique upturned tiltrotors for maximum lift, soon landed on deck.
It’s Commander. Richie Welsh is responsible for ensuring a U.S. Marine Corps Osprey can be moved safely and efficiently through the hangar so maintenance crews can do their jobs
A Royal Navy Wildcat helicopter is maneuvered through the huge hangar, past a Merlin aircraft parked on the left. The space is so large that it can accommodate the length of two frigates
The final test should come the next day: How to park it!
In the gloom of the cavernous hangar below, Cdr. Richie Welsh did the table planning and tours.
The final step would be to bring an Osprey down using the giant aircraft lift and move it around to make sure it actually fits where it’s supposed to fit.
It transforms the carrier from a “lily pad” where planes easily board and disembark into a base for American Osprey squadrons.
“It will give us the opportunity to make sure it fits into all the services needed to maintain them,” he said.