HMS
Prince of Wales
departs Portsmouth Harbour on 12 February to take part in Exercise ‘Steadfast Defender 2024′ with NATO partners off the coast of Norway.
(Crown Copyright)

The UK Royal Navy’s (RN’s) second Queen Elizabeth-class aircraft carrier HMS
Prince of Wales
sets sail from Portsmouth on 12 February bound for northern Norway where it will lead an international task group in the NATO Exercise ‘Steadfast Defender 2024′.

Prince of Wales
will participate in the exercise in place of HMS
Queen Elizabeth
, which had to be withdrawn from the planned deployment after a last-minute inspection on 2 February uncovered a defect in a propeller shaft coupling.

At the time the defect was discovered,
Prince of Wales
had entered a period of maintenance and was at 30 days’ notice to sail. However, as a result of the change of tasking it has been prepared to sail in just seven days, the RN said.