HMS Prince of Wales arrives at home port

The Royal Navy’s second aircraft carrier, HMS Prince of Wales, has arrived at its home port of Portsmouth Naval Base for the first time.

The carrier has spent the past nine weeks at sea carrying out a number of trials, including the landing of a Merlin Mk2 helicopter and a test of the ship’s engines at full power. The sea trials programme tested all 158 essential systems on the ship which includes power and propulsion, radars, communications and essential hotel and platform services.

Simon Lister, managing director, Aircraft Carrier Alliance, said: ‘Today is an important day for our employees and the Royal Navy. Delivering next generation naval capability of this complexity is not only a proud moment for our employees but also showcases the industrial capability within the UK.

‘This programme has brought together the best of British imagination, ingenuity and invention and I am extremely proud of our teams who have shown relentless drive, energy and a continued focus on ensuring we deliver the very best for the Royal Navy.’

More than £100 million has been spent updating and enhancing the facilities at Her Majesty's Naval Base, Portsmouth, including an upgrade to the Princess Royal Jetty which will be home to both carriers. A new combined heat and power facility has also been established to deliver power to the carriers, increase energy resilience and reduce the carbon footprint of the base.

Once fully operational, the Queen Elizabeth class ships will provide a forward deployed base for the UK’s F-35B aircraft, delivering a carrier strike capability to the UK’s armed forces anywhere in the world.