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The Prince of Wales has begun her maiden voyage into the Indo-Pacific in a daring venture into
China
‘s backyard.
Over the next eight months, the 280m aircraft carrier will be joined by allies from around the world as she patrols the region with a promise to help ‘maintain international security and prosperity’.
The vessel, which cost £3.5bn and took seven years to build, is the largest ship the Royal Navy has ever floated in its 479-year history, with a flight deck large enough to fit three football pitches and capable of carrying up to 70 F-35B stealth fighters.
She docked in
Singapore
on Monday and will be accompanied by a Type 23 frigate, a Type 45 destroyer, an Astute class submarine, and other support vessels for the deployment, where she is expected to be shadowed by the Chinese Navy before heading down under for an Australia-led exercise next month.
The deployment begins with around 2,500 military personnel, growing to more than 4,500 for some exercises. The behemoth Prince of Wales alone is able to carry a crew of up to 1,400 staff.
The journey will end in
Japan
, where she is set to
support the local authorities in developing Tokyo’s F-35 capability. The vessel has already been through the Mediterranean and Suez Canal, and dodged the Houthis in Yemen.
Ahead of her deployment – the first to the region since she was launched in 2018 –
War on Tape got to go aboard
while she was fitting out to experience what it is like on the vessel first-hand, and to find out what her role is on the high seas.
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