Latest news with #OperationHighmast
See - Sada Elbalad
5 hours ago
- Politics
- See - Sada Elbalad
UK Rules Out Sending HMS Prince of Wales to Ukraine War
Israa Farhan The United Kingdom has confirmed it will not redeploy the HMS Prince of Wales aircraft carrier from the Indo-Pacific region to Europe amid the ongoing Ukraine conflict. UK Chief of the Defiance Staff Admiral Tony Radakin stated that there are no plans to involve the carrier in the Russia-Ukraine war. Admiral Radakin addressed recent media speculation suggesting US dissatisfaction with the UK's decision to send its flagship naval vessel to the Indo-Pacific. He clarified that the UK does not anticipate the conflict escalating in a way that would require deployment of the HMS Prince of Wales. Since leaving Portsmouth in April, the HMS Prince of Wales has been participating in Operation Highmast, a major naval deployment across the Indo-Pacific. The strike group is conducting joint exercises and port visits in the Indian Ocean alongside forces from the United States, India, Singapore, and Malaysia. UK naval forces are also set to take part in Exercise Talisman Sabre near Australia with 19 allied nations, followed by joint training operations with Japan's Self-Defense Forces. read more Gold prices rise, 21 Karat at EGP 3685 NATO's Role in Israeli-Palestinian Conflict US Expresses 'Strong Opposition' to New Turkish Military Operation in Syria Shoukry Meets Director-General of FAO Lavrov: confrontation bet. nuclear powers must be avoided News Iran Summons French Ambassador over Foreign Minister Remarks News Aboul Gheit Condemns Israeli Escalation in West Bank News Greek PM: Athens Plays Key Role in Improving Energy Security in Region News One Person Injured in Explosion at Ukrainian Embassy in Madrid News Ayat Khaddoura's Final Video Captures Bombardment of Beit Lahia News Australia Fines Telegram $600,000 Over Terrorism, Child Abuse Content Sports Former Al Zamalek Player Ibrahim Shika Passes away after Long Battle with Cancer Sports Neymar Announced for Brazil's Preliminary List for 2026 FIFA World Cup Qualifiers News Prime Minister Moustafa Madbouly Inaugurates Two Indian Companies Arts & Culture New Archaeological Discovery from 26th Dynasty Uncovered in Karnak Temple Business Fear & Greed Index Plummets to Lowest Level Ever Recorded amid Global Trade War Arts & Culture Zahi Hawass: Claims of Columns Beneath the Pyramid of Khafre Are Lies News Flights suspended at Port Sudan Airport after Drone Attacks News Shell Unveils Cost-Cutting, LNG Growth Plan
Telegraph
2 days ago
- General
- Telegraph
A Royal Navy aircraft carrier is inside a hostile missile footprint. Can it survive?
Right now, the ships of Operation Highmast – the aircraft carrier HMS Prince of Wales and her group – will be headed for the Bab-El-Mandeb chokepoint at the south end of the Red Sea. This eight nautical mile wide gap has been the focus of international attention since 19 October 2023 when the Iranian-backed Houthis started firing missiles and drones at shipping in the area out of 'solidarity with the oppressed Palestinian people'. International warships have been patrolling nearby ever since, often in the thick of the hottest naval combat for many years. The US Navy in particular fired more air defence missiles in the next 18 months than they had in the previous 30 years. The Royal Navy and others have also engaged in the defensive missile battle, to no avail. Merchant shipping is still avoiding the Red Sea. In an effort to change the situation, March saw President Trump order a surge in counter-strikes that has now cost the US more than a billion dollars in munitions, plus several MQ-9 Reaper drones shot down. The operational tempo has been such that two US Navy F/A-18 fighter jets were lost due to deck handling and landing accidents. There were also some perilously close calls as US jets were targeted by Houthi surface-to-air missiles. In a previous assault against ISIS in Somalia, the USN had already delivered the biggest carrier air strike by weight of munitions that the world has ever seen. Make no mistake, the Prince of Wales is headed into a warzone. She'll be well within the footprint of hostile missiles, a situation which the critics of aircraft carriers as an idea routinely claim is unsurvivable. But all the American firepower does seem to have achieved something. On 6 May the Houthis agreed to 'halt attacks on US warships and commercial shipping'. This sort of statement needs to be treated with due caution, but for now the Houthis appear to be mainly targeting Israel and leaving shipping alone, possibly because they have no other option. For now, the US is no longer striking the Houthis, in large part because they were getting worried about the rate at which they were using up munitions. The other thing to bear in mind is that British warships have been running the Bab-el-Mandeb gauntlet and the Strait of Hormuz one (at the entrance to the Gulf) for many years. The Strait of Hormuz was often seen as more dangerous in the past, as it is threatened by thousands of Iranian fast attack craft and missiles that only had one job, and it wasn't port visits. You can't go through the Strait of Hormuz without being rushed by multiple Iranian boats and jet skis – but it doesn't make the news. Even back in the day the threat in the Bab El Mandeb was often deemed higher than Hormuz due to the possibility of a suicide attack (which would be Iranian sponsored but easier for them to deny). Since the current shooting started, we have had a Type 45 destroyer in combat there, and a Type 23 frigate briefly, successfully destroying drones and missiles and feeding back lessons from those engagements into the system. In other words, there is nothing in this current transit that will come as a surprise, and the group will have trained for all of it. What will keep the group's High Value Units (HVUs - the carrier and supply ship) safe is layered defence. The layers start a long way out and include intelligence gathering and all sorts of information collection, increasingly in the cyber domain as covered lately in these pages. This could be as simple as a Yemeni teenager posting a selfie on social media that happens to have a drone launch rack in the background – geolocate the picture, and that's a marker on the big map. When more complex methods are used, this is often one of the ways that the carrier group's accompanying submarine does its job. Drones and electronic warfare aircraft – such as EA-18 Prowlers from the US carrier – are also sniffing the electronic wind over a vast area. The next ring is radar detection of drones or missiles in flight, which can be done at long range no matter how low the threats may be flying by high-flying radar platforms. Advanced warning of an attack could be provided from the US carrier's Hawkeye or a Crowsnest radar carried by a Merlin helicopter launched from the Prince of Wales. Much is made of our strike group's deficiencies in this regard, and correctly so, but in this case, the area will be well and truly saturated. The first line of active defence is fighters flying Combat Air Patrol, in this case F-35Bs launched from the carrier. These can shoot down cruise missiles or drones while they're still far away from the HVUs. Our F-35Bs today can use the powerful AMRAAM missile to take out airborne targets far beyond visual range, and the first test flight has already been conducted with the even further-reaching Meteor. This sort of capability creates a huge killzone for enemy weapons to fly through. Often overlooked is how capable the F-35 is at contributing to the outer two layers as well – intelligence and surveillance. As I say, this area will be saturated for the duration of the transit. The ships themselves will form into what's called a screen, with the HVUs in the middle and the escorts in rings around them. Where you put your air defence destroyers and your anti-submarine frigates is nearly infinitely flexible depending on water space and the threat, but that is the principle. This is roughly how they will be formed up now as they head down the Red Sea. At this point the general Speed of Advance becomes important. It's an unfortunate reality of the Suez canal that everyone knows when you leave it so the last thing you want to do is set a straight course at 12 knots because then everyone knows when you will be at the chokepoint. Being unpredictable is a fundamental of maritime operations, one that the Russian cruiser Moskva ignored in the Black Sea with fatal results. Supposing that the Houthis nonetheless manage to locate and track the carrier, and supposing that some kind of massive strike made it past the CAP fighters (they'd probably reinforced by quick-reaction alert birds arriving supersonically from the carrier) the next line of defence comes from the group's dedicated air defence destroyer, with its long range radar and missiles creating another kill zone for the Houthi weapons to fly through. And finally, if a lonely drone or missile or two survives to close in on one of our ships, there is close-in defence from short-range missiles or guns mounted on every vessel. These automated systems can bring down fast-flying missiles and are almost invariably effective against slow-flying drones. Between the destroyer HMS Dauntless and frigates HMS Richmond, Mendez Nunez (Spain), Ville de Quebec (Canada) and Roald Amundsen (Norway) there are a great deal of overlapping air, surface and subsurface capabilities within the group. Interestingly, they came through the canal with two formidable Arleigh Burke class American destroyers in company – although it's not clear if they will stay with them for the duration of the Red Sea or peel off to join the US carrier Carl Vinson, currently in the area. A Burke carries SM-3 and SM-6 defensive missiles that can bring down even high-end ballistics or hypersonics. As you close the chokepoint itself, you want to ensure that nothing short-range is being set up for your arrival, be that surface or subsurface drones or even mines. Here intelligence is key but also the jets, helicopters and the submarine can be used to spot brewing threats far ahead of the HVUs. One of the problems with a chokepoint like the Bab el Mandeb is that your carefully crafted screen gets squeezed as you approach it. Range is your friend at sea and geography takes it away, made worse by a traffic separation scheme that you have to pass through to let the multitude of ships heading the other way pass safely. It's not quite Suez Canal levels of predictability, but it's not far off it. Now it becomes doubly important to be able to see inland and if necessary, shoot the archer first because once the arrow is flying, reaction times are short. At some point as they approach the gap the ships will close up to Action Stations, the highest state of readiness for a warship. This involves all sensors, weapons, machinery and damage control positions being fully stood-to. Fire retardant clothing and anti-flash hoods are donned, the latter hiding the game-faces. You can't sustain this indefinitely because everyone is awake, so timing is key. If that all sounds a bit dramatic, it really isn't, certainly not if you are just passing through. As I say, this is normal operating procedure for high-risk transits and will have been practiced to death in the group and done for real many times elsewhere by many of those aboard. So far so defensive – what about strikes? I would love to see the carrier's strike capability used, but there are factors militating against it. One is the fact that the only air-to-ground weapon our F-35Bs can currently deliver is a basic smartbomb, meaning that they'd have to fly very close to their target. Another is the known surface-to-air threat from the Houthis. Probably worst, however, is the current ceasefire between the US and the Houthis, if not between the Houthis and Israel. It would probably annoy the Americans rather than please them if we kickstarted that war again: they're now known to be trying to build up their weapons stocks in case of trouble with China. If the Houthis were still firing every day the calculus would be different and I'm sure the Royal Navy, and certainly the fast jet pilots, would want to get involved. It is, after all, a Carrier Strike Group. But as it stands today, I would expect them to transit through and head off. If they are fired at, they can always go back into a defensive screen once in the relatively open waters of the Gulf of Aden and strike back from there, as the US Navy has done on many occasions. It's also worth noting that a US carrier has been operating here and up in the Red Sea, nearly continuously since early 2024, sometimes with only one or two destroyers in the screen. Prince of Wales will have far more ships and because the transit is short they will be more focused. In other words, there isn't much to fear for our boys and girls in the strike group. Fair winds and following seas to the ships of Operation Highmast. My hope is they'll get through safely, fall out from Action Stations, clear the Houthi missile envelope and immediately start spinning slightly exaggerated yarns about it all.
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
The cyber hub guiding UK flagship through perilous waters
At the British military's cyber headquarters in Wiltshire there is one critical task on everyone's minds: ensuring the safety of Carrier Strike Group 2025. This week, HMS Prince of Wales transits through the Bab-el-Mandeb in the Red Sea – the most perilous passage it will undertake on its eight-month mission. John Healey, the Defence Secretary, is all too aware of the dangers facing the £3 billion aircraft carrier and its group of support vessels. The area has suffered sustained Houthi attacks for over a year with the Royal Navy actively involved. Meeting members of the Royal Navy, who are based at MoD Corsham, the UK's military cyber HQ, Mr Healey spoke with personnel who are monitoring Operation Highmast, as it is known, around the clock to ensure its safety. In a room with floor-to-ceiling glass walls that overlook huge digital boards covered with information pertaining to the movements of the strike group (CSG), Mr Healey asked those gathered: 'What preparations did you do to make sure they were secure before going into this area?' It was explained they had 'gameplanned situations' to ensure they felt confident with a number of scenarios should the group encounter any trouble with the Iranian-backed Houthis. Mr Healey took his hat off to their efforts, saying work in the cyber field was all the more important because 'we don't see it'. 'We have to protect CSG in the next few days,' Mr Healey told one sailor. 'It will be a really dangerous high-risk passage', he said, adding that he was aware the 2,100 British military personnel involved in the mission were being 'digitally protected'. One important element of this is keeping an eye on phishing campaigns, which can happen at sea because personnel are connected to the internet. When asked by The Telegraph if he was concerned about the threats CSG might encounter, Mr Healey said: 'The Carrier Strike Group is in a high risk area. We know that, they know that, they are fully trained for that and they are as well prepared and well protected as they can be, physically, militarily and digitally and in cyber.' A senior defence source involved in operations at MoD Corsham warned: 'Houthis are well resourced by Iranians. They have offensive cyber capability.' When CSG set sail for the Indo-Pacific from Portsmouth last month, Commodore James Blackmore, in charge of the group, told The Telegraph he was ready to undertake any route required and would engage in active combat in the Red Sea if required. 'That's what a Carrier Strike Group does, that focus on that middle word, 'strike',' he said. 'I know I've got to transit through the Red Sea. I'm acutely aware of the dynamics that are associated with the Red Sea at the moment. I am always prepared and ready to not only defend myself but also any stage in this deployment if I am asked to undertake combat operations, I am absolutely ready.' From a practical point of view, those working at MoD Corsham are also on-call to help if something goes wrong. 'If something breaks down on the ship, we get notified and fix it here,' one naval officer said. On the walls on either side of the digital boards mapping the strike group's movements, clocks dedicated to telling the time of Op Highmast tick away. Men and women in dark blue Navy uniforms circulate the floor, but there are also many in civilian clothing, some sipping Monster energy drinks as they hunch over computers – staff no doubt brought in for their cyber expertise, something the MoD is actively recruiting for. Earlier this year, the MoD announced that military recruits will be fast-tracked into specialist roles to tackle the growing cyber threat to the UK through the Cyber Direct Entry programme. They were told that not only would starting salaries begin over £40,000, with potential for up to £25,000 in additional skills pay, but that there was no requirement to serve in dangerous environments or handle weapons. The days when all British military personnel were hyper-fit and able to handle weapons are being left behind as cyber dominates the landscape. As part of the highly anticipated Strategic Defence Review, which will be published on Monday, the digital realm will be put front and centre as the MoD seeks to explain how defence will look over the next decade. A senior defence source from MoD Corsham explained the importance of developing AI systems for the front line. He stressed they would not seek to replace traditional weapons systems such as tanks and aircraft, but complement them. 'At the moment we put people into places without all the information which would give them the greatest advantage on the battlefield,' he said. 'Our approach around cyber will make sure all of them are fully integrated with wider operations. It's not about cyber winning the war. It's how cyber is a multiplier in the other domains.' The passage of Britain's flagship carrier will be a crucial test in Britain's ability to compete on the battlefield of the future. Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 1 month with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more.
Telegraph
3 days ago
- Politics
- Telegraph
The cyber hub guiding UK flagship through perilous waters
At the British military's cyber headquarters in Wiltshire there is one critical task on everyone's minds: ensuring the safety of Carrier Strike Group 2025. This week, HMS Prince of Wales transits through the Bab-el-Mandeb in the Red Sea – the most perilous passage it will undertake on its eight-month mission. John Healey, the Defence Secretary, is all too aware of the dangers facing the £3 billion aircraft carrier and its group of support vessels. The area has suffered sustained Houthi attacks for over a year with the Royal Navy actively involved. Meeting members of the Royal Navy, who are based at MoD Corsham, the UK's military cyber HQ, Mr Healey spoke with personnel who are monitoring Operation Highmast, as it is known, around the clock to ensure its safety. In a room with floor-to-ceiling glass walls that overlook huge digital boards covered with information pertaining to the movements of the strike group (CSG), Mr Healey asked those gathered: 'What preparations did you do to make sure they were secure before going into this area?' It was explained they had 'gameplanned situations' to ensure they felt confident with a number of scenarios should the group encounter any trouble with the Iranian-backed Houthis. Mr Healey took his hat off to their efforts, saying work in the cyber field was all the more important because 'we don't see it'. 'We have to protect CSG in the next few days,' Mr Healey told one sailor. 'It will be a really dangerous high-risk passage', he said, adding that he was aware the 2,100 British military personnel involved in the mission were being 'digitally protected'. One important element of this is keeping an eye on phishing campaigns, which can happen at sea because personnel are connected to the internet. When asked by The Telegraph if he was concerned about the threats CSG might encounter, Mr Healey said: 'The Carrier Strike Group is in a high risk area. We know that, they know that, they are fully trained for that and they are as well prepared and well protected as they can be, physically, militarily and digitally and in cyber.' A senior defence source involved in operations at MoD Corsham warned: 'Houthis are well resourced by Iranians. They have offensive cyber capability.' When CSG set sail for the Indo-Pacific from Portsmouth last month, Commodore James Blackmore, in charge of the group, told The Telegraph he was ready to undertake any route required and would engage in active combat in the Red Sea if required. 'That's what a Carrier Strike Group does, that focus on that middle word, 'strike',' he said. 'I know I've got to transit through the Red Sea. I'm acutely aware of the dynamics that are associated with the Red Sea at the moment. I am always prepared and ready to not only defend myself but also any stage in this deployment if I am asked to undertake combat operations, I am absolutely ready.' From a practical point of view, those working at MoD Corsham are also on-call to help if something goes wrong. 'If something breaks down on the ship, we get notified and fix it here,' one naval officer said. On the walls on either side of the digital boards mapping the strike group's movements, clocks dedicated to telling the time of Op Highmast tick away. Men and women in dark blue Navy uniforms circulate the floor, but there are also many in civilian clothing, some sipping Monster energy drinks as they hunch over computers – staff no doubt brought in for their cyber expertise, something the MoD is actively recruiting for. Earlier this year, the MoD announced that military recruits will be fast-tracked into specialist roles to tackle the growing cyber threat to the UK through the Cyber Direct Entry programme. They were told that not only would starting salaries begin over £40,000, with potential for up to £25,000 in additional skills pay, but that there was no requirement to serve in dangerous environments or handle weapons. The days when all British military personnel were hyper-fit and able to handle weapons are being left behind as cyber dominates the landscape. As part of the highly anticipated Strategic Defence Review, which will be published on Monday, the digital realm will be put front and centre as the MoD seeks to explain how defence will look over the next decade. A senior defence source from MoD Corsham explained the importance of developing AI systems for the front line. He stressed they would not seek to replace traditional weapons systems such as tanks and aircraft, but complement them. 'At the moment we put people into places without all the information which would give them the greatest advantage on the battlefield,' he said. 'Our approach around cyber will make sure all of them are fully integrated with wider operations. It's not about cyber winning the war. It's how cyber is a multiplier in the other domains.' The passage of Britain's flagship carrier will be a crucial test in Britain's ability to compete on the battlefield of the future.
GMA Network
5 days ago
- Politics
- GMA Network
UK aircraft carrier to sail in Indo-Pacific as part of multi-national task force —PH Navy
The aircraft carrier HMS Prince of Wales (09) before she departed for Operation Highmast. Royal Navy The Philippine Navy on Tuesday said that a multi-national task force centered around an aircraft carrier of the United Kingdom is expected to sail in the Indo-Pacific region to promote international order. In a press briefing, Philippine Navy spokesperson for the West Philippine Sea (WPS) Rear Admiral Roy Vincent Trinidad said the activity is under the Royal Navy-led Operation Highmast. 'The United Kingdom last month, April 25, set sail Operation Highmast centered on the British aircraft carrier HMS Prince of Wales joined by warships from Norway, Canada,and Spain,' he said. 'The objective here is to reinforce the alliances with like-minded nations in the Indo-Pacific Region and to support the international order, which is currently being attacked by one country that would like to change the international status quo,' he added. Trinidad said the eight-month deployment will cover the Mediterranean Sea, Indian Ocean, and the Indo-Pacific Region. According to him, multilateral exercises will be conducted during Operation Highmast. HMS Prince of Wales has an embarked air group that includes the F-35B Lightning II stealth multirole fghters, anti-submarine helicopters, airborne early warning aircraft and accommodation for 250 Royal Marines. Tensions continue as Beijing claims almost all of the South China Sea, a conduit for more than $3 trillion of annual ship-borne commerce, including parts claimed by the Philippines, Vietnam, Indonesia, Malaysia, and Brunei. Parts of the South China Sea that fall within Philippine territory have been renamed by the government as West Philippine Sea to reinforce the country's claim. The West Philippine Sea refers to the maritime areas on the western side of the Philippine archipelago including Luzon Sea and the waters around, within and adjacent to the Kalayaan Island Group and Bajo de Masinloc. In 2016, the Permanent Court of Arbitration in the Hague ruled in favor of the Philippines over China's claims in the South China Sea, saying that it had "no legal basis." Beijing has refused to recognize the decision. —RF, GMA Integrated News
