Royal Navy: Merlin helicopters reach "significant milestone" as they join HMS Prince of Wales for Pacific op

Royal Navy air squadrons have landed the aircraft on the flight deck of HMS Prince of Wales, which is currently bound for the Indo-Pacific. The 65,000 tonne aircraft carrier left Portsmouth on Tuesday (April 22) with huge crowds lining the Hot Walls to wave the sailors goodbye.

She will take charge of the UK Carrier Strike Group (UKCSG) during the eight month mission where various military exercises and diplomatic drills will be carried out. A major part of any UKCSG is defending it from the skies, so RAF pilots and naval air personnel will be tasked with pushing the aircraft to their limits by using them at “full operating capability”.

Captain Colin McGannity, Carrier Air Wing and Strike Warfare Commander, said: “It’s an essential element of the Carrier Enabled Power Projection programme that, of course, we’re getting to the point of full operating capability for, with the Carrier Strike Group in the deployment coming up.

“The principal reason for having the ASaC capability and the Crowsnest programme to do that is for protection of the strike group against air threats and, although it doesn’t fire anything to engage missiles, it’s there to provide early warning to ships and particularly for the targets that ships would struggle to see themselves.

“By getting a really capable radar up high and looking down, we’re taking advantage of all the lessons that we’ve learned in the past, particularly back in the Falklands War to make sure that we’ve got that capability to help protect the strike group.”

Nine Merlin helicopters from 820 Naval Air Squadron will act as the UKCSG’s eyes and ears, with various other aircraft being deployed throughout. The 200 men and women and their aircraft from the Merlin Helicopter Force will provide anti-submarine warfare capabilities, alongside airborne surveillance and control for the task group.

They will be used for co-ordinated defence and strike operations, while being asked to constantly keep an eye out for aerial threats and those operating underwater. Three of the helicopters are designed for Airborne and Control (ASaC) and were delivered through the Crowsnest programme.

These aircraft will be tasked with flying more than a mile above the UKCSG and use their radars to scan an area up to 100 miles around it. Crowsnest reached Full Operating Capability at the end of March, ahead of deploying with the Carrier Strike Group. This means all the Royal Navy and RAF capabilities are fully developed and can protect the warships from hostile aircraft, ships or incoming drones and missiles.

Crowsnest programme director Commander James Stone said: “The Merlin Mk2 ASaC helicopters have now reached full operating capability and this is a hugely significant milestone. It now means the ‘eyes of the fleet’ are back, doing their core job with the full ability to deliver maritime force protection from air and surface threats.

“ASaC is one of three pillars of carrier strike. You have the carrier itself, the F35 jets that deliver the strike capability and ASaC which provides the overarching coordination and maritime force protection.”