The MoD declared Full Operating Capability (FOC) for the UK Carrier Strike Group on 17 November 2025. The announcement came during a major NATO exercise in the Mediterranean Sea. Here we consider the implications of the FOC milestone.
27 years after the QEC carrier project was first announced, officially, the UKCSG now has “all its component parts are ready to operate on front-line duties wherever required” and is “mission ready for NATO”. Although the recent CSG deployment has demonstrated the RN still has a reach and capability matched by few nations, claiming that all the component parts are “ready” is a stretch, with limitations on the F-35 central to the issues, along with the wider lack of escorts, submarines and RFAs. Mediterranean milestone
The declaration marked the culmination of more than two decades of work to restore the RN’s fixed-wing carrier aviation, first outlined in the 1998 Strategic Defence Review. That review set out the vision for Carrier Enabled Power Projection (CEPP), centred on two new QEC carriers supported by short take-off and vertical landing aircraft able to operate without reliance on foreign bases. The Joint Strike Fighter / F-35B Lightning II was selected in 2001, promising stealth, advanced sensors, multirole flexibility and enough jets to comfortably equip both carriers with an air wing of up to 36 aircraft. Photos confirming the embarkation of 24 jets were finally released this week (5 of those on visible in these official images are Italian aircraft). Impressive sight of an HMS Prince of Wales steaming through the Mediterranean with a full flight deck, 21 November 2025.
Repeated delays, reduced fleet numbers and incomplete integration of British weapons on F-35 have hampered the carrier project. Initial plans called for the acquisition of 138 F-35s at a cost of about £10Bn, with the whole life cost for the Lightning Force, including support and infrastructure, now set to exceed £57Bn. The sovereign stealth coating facility at RAF Marham remains unfinished, delaying full maintenance independence until at least 2026, while availability across the fleet sits below 60% due to engineer shortages (at least four years until full engineering manpower is recovered) and ongoing supply chain constraints, including the transition from ALIS to ODIN spares and maintenance support software systems. HMS Prince of Wales in the Bay of Naples for a media event to mark the FOC landmark. 15 jets of the flight deck with another 9 in the hangar (Photo: Jerome Starkey).
Compared with previous carrier landmarks, the achievement of FOC was a relatively low-key media event. Perhaps stung by the withering assessment by the Public Accounts Committee of the F-35 programme, there was a very controlled media briefing on HMS Prince of Wales’ flight deck, attended by Defence Secretary John Healey, Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper and representatives from the RN, RAF and NATO allies. The Foreign Secretary and Defence Secretary visit the ops room. Air weapons fitted for but not with
As a ‘Tier 1’ partner from the outset, the United Kingdom accepted early developmental risk in return for significant industrial benefits, including assembly work at BAE Systems Samlesbury. This arrangement safeguarded thousands of jobs but tied UK timelines to the wider Joint Strike Fighter programme, magnifying delays from software upgrades and testing cycles, which will always place the United States first in priority. The UK is no longer a Tier 1 partner and must wait in line for deliveries and upgrades along with the many other nations in the F-35 programme.
The F-35 programme reflects a familiar pattern in major MoD acquisitions, where ambition meets fiscal restraint and technical complexity. Integration of the Meteor beyond visual range missile and SPEAR 3 stand-off weapon, both vital for independent operations, faces clearance timelines stretching into the early 2030s. These gaps leave the aircraft armed solely with ASRAAM, AIM-120 air-to-air missiles and Paveway IV free-fall bombs. Italian and British F-35B Jets and Italian Navy AV-8B Harrier II Jets in formation during exercise Falcon Strike.
There are reports that the MoD is looking to circumvent the failure by Lockheed Martin to integrate weapons with sufficient urgency. There are rumours that a purchase of US-made Small Diameter Bombs or the StormBreaker glide bomb are being considered to mitigate for the unavailability of SPEAR-3. An austere integration of the Storm Shadow missile or the FC/ASW Stratus missile carried externally may also be possible. At present, none of these options has yet been funded and they remain aspirational only.
Tensions between the RN and RAF over F-35 employment persist, with the RN prioritising maritime strike from the carriers and the RAF focused on air defence, strike and NATO nuclear missions from land bases. The STOVL configuration suits shipboard operations but trades range and payload against the conventional F-35A. In June 2025, the RAF announced the intention to procure 12 F-35As. The roadmap for the split fleet of the future is not certain, but capping the F-35B buy at 62 seems likely.
The Crowsnest Airborne Surveillance and Control system achieved FOC in March 2025 and is reportedly working as intended. Critical to the safety and functioning of the CSG, its true capabilities are classified, and its effectiveness is hard to assess. The RN is clearly not overly keen on the arrangement and (optimistically) plans to replace Crowsnest as soon as 2029. Its successor will be an uncrewed air vehicle-borne radar, a plan motivated not least by the need to release precious Merlin Mk2 airframes back to their ASW role. The 5th-generation aircraft carrier CSG25: Reach and readiness
The CSG25 deployment began in April with HMS Prince of Wales departing Portsmouth, embarking an initial air group consisting of 18 F-35B for the majority of the deployment. By borrowing jets from the OCU and flying them out from the UK, a total of 24 was achieved in early November, although the images here show 5 of the 24 jets on the flight deck belong to the Italian Navy, cross-decked from the ITS Cavour. 6 British jets did join the ship in the Mediterannean during early November and FOC was declared several days ahead of these photos taken on the 21st. 4 jets returned home to Marham on the 16th with a further 8 flying back to the UK on 22nd November.
The 24 jets participated in exercise Falcon Strike and conducted nearly 50 sorties. In one 24-hour period, 36 jet sorties were flown – the highest rate of carrier operations since the Falklands War. The QEC carriers were originally designed to support up to 36 jets and deliver 110 sorties per day for short periods.
Logistics remained challenging throughout the eight-month deployment. The F-35s were refuelling from land-based RAF Voyager tankers, notably during the initial Suez Canal transit. HNoMS Maud provided limited support to the group during the initial phases of the deployment, but there was no permanent solid stores support. Food and spares could be supplied at regular logistic stops supplemented by helicopters and UAVs conducting small VETREPs from RFA Tidespring. However, in a combat situation where munitions supply was required more regularly and port visits might not be an option, the lack of FSS would be far more serious. No Astute-class submarine accompanied the group beyond Gibraltar, reflecting pressure on availability and the prioritisation of patrols in northern waters.
The CSG, including Type 45 destroyer HMS Dauntless, Type 23 frigate HMS Richmond and allied vessels from Canada, Norway and Spain, crossed the Atlantic, Indian Ocean and Pacific before re-entering the Mediterranean in late October. Exercises such as Talisman Sabre in Australia, integration with US forces and testing the CSG against Russian-made Indian jets provided the kind of experience and training value that cannot be replicated easily. 24 but room for more. FOC with caveats
FOC represents progress, yet major deliverables from the original programme remain outstanding, including indications that Shipborne Rolling Vertical Landing (SRVL) may have been abandoned. Sovereign weapons integration, independent deep maintenance and sustained high-tempo operations without allied support will still take years to achieve. The declaration during Falcon Strike met technical thresholds under favourable conditions, but does not yet translate to routine deployability.
This reflects wider trends, such as the British Army’s NATO pledge of an armoured division despite clear shortfalls in equipment and manpower that would require allied reinforcement in any real conflict. The RN has rebuilt a carrier strike force with genuine global reach, as CSG25 demonstrated, but sustaining it will require continued investment in personnel, logistics and allied partnerships. With the 2025 review prioritising NATO’s eastern flank, the next major deployment is likely to focus on European waters rather than distant theatres. The pathway to achieving the hybrid carrier vision may also emerge more clearly in the forthcoming Defence Investment Plan (DIP), marking the next major evolution in Royal Navy aircraft carrier development.The last working-class hero in England. Clio the cat, ? July 1997 - 1 May 2016 Kira the cat, ? ? 2010 - 3 August 2018 Jasper the Ruffian cat ??? - 4 November 2021 Georgina the cat ???-4 December 2025
Should give the Houthis some good target practice at least... (nm)
on November 30, 2025, 11:19 pm