In early August 2025, the British aircraft carrier HMS Prince of Wales successfully completed a critical at-sea replenishment operation alongside the Royal Fleet Auxiliary tanker RFA Tidespring and the U.S. Navy’s dry cargo ship USNS Wally Schirra. The operation ensured delivery of fuel, munitions, spare parts, and essential supplies directly to the carrier strike group while it remained fully underway, highlighting the Royal Navy’s ability to sustain operations far from home ports.
This operation occurred during Operation Highmast, one of the Royal Navy’s most extensive deployments of the decade. Over eight months, the strike group will navigate the Mediterranean, Red Sea, and Indian Ocean before shifting focus to the Indo-Pacific, collaborating with over a dozen allied nations. Port visits in Singapore and Australia have reinforced partnerships, while joint exercises, carrier flight operations, and maritime security patrols have demonstrated operational readiness and multilateral interoperability.
Resupply at sea is vital for maintaining a forward-deployed presence, especially for a carrier strike group centered on a fifth-generation aircraft carrier like HMS Prince of Wales. The combination of RFA Tidespring, providing fuel, water, and helicopter support, and USNS Wally Schirra, delivering dry cargo, ammunition, and supplies, enables both alongside and vertical replenishment, ensuring continuous operational capability without returning to port.
This exercise reflects more than logistics—it demonstrates NATO-aligned naval forces’ ability to operate seamlessly in contested waters. Operation Highmast involves over 4,500 personnel, including Royal Navy sailors, Royal Marines, Army troops, and RAF aircrew operating F-35B Lightning II jets and Merlin helicopters. The replenishment guarantees these assets can sustain high sortie rates and rapid response times.
Strategically, the deployment underscores the UK’s commitment to maintaining a credible maritime presence across the Mediterranean and Indo-Pacific. With rising tensions in regions such as the South China Sea, Taiwan Strait, and Eastern Mediterranean, the Royal Navy’s forward-positioned strike group sends a clear signal: the United Kingdom is prepared to operate independently and alongside allies, projecting power wherever required.
The recent resupply operation demonstrates that the British Carrier Strike Group can remain at sea, fully mission-ready, supported by integrated and interoperable logistics—a benchmark for modern naval power projection.
