On 22nd April, the HMS Prince of Wales left Portsmouth to join the Royal Navy’s Carrier Strike Group 2025 (CSG2025) – named Operation HIGHMAST – before setting sail to the Mediterranean. Alongside allied vessels, CSG2025 will partake in a series of joint military exercises encompassing land, sea, air and cyber operations spanning seven months.
CSG2025 has a clear purpose: to showcase the global reach and naval might of the United Kingdom (UK). By assembling such a multifaceted force – and collaborating with North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) and Indo-Pacific allies – CSG2025 sends the message that Britain retains internationally competitive military capability in the 21st century. However, given the ongoing geopolitical tensions in the Euro-Atlantic region, criticism has been levelled against the decision to deploy CSG2025. As such, for this week’s Britain’s World’s Big Ask, we asked five experts: How does the deployment of Carrier Strike Group 2025 benefit Britain?
Senior Lecturer in History and Maritime Strategy, University of Canberra
From Canberra’s perspective, probably the most important benefit of the deployment of CSG2025 is the signalling of the UK’s continued defence capability and its engagement with regional partners. Britain’s most important defence relationships in the Indo-Pacific are with Australia and Japan, and there is much to be gained by demonstrating British capability and commitment. This is especially true in Australia’s case, as doubts over the UK’s commitment to AUKUS and capability to deliver have been consistent in the debate over the partnership.
Beyond this, there are real benefits to the British Armed Forces, and its regional partners, in deploying such a highly capable task force to the region. CSG2025 will exercise with a range of different partners, and includes the first non-United States (US) aircraft carrier to take part in Talisman Sabre, Australia’s premier defence exercise. This, alongside exercises with other regional partners, offers excellent training opportunities, scope for deepening interoperability and the chance to build relationships.
From an Australian viewpoint, the British commentary on the signalling and deterrence effect on the People’s Republic of China can be overstated. The recent extraordinary growth of the People’s Liberation Army Navy means that even major deployments by European nations lack the weight they once had. Although a British presence in the Indo-Pacific is very welcome, the Royal Navy must be open about its own limitations.
A final, but very important, potential benefit of CSG2025 stems from the uncertainty created by the second Trump administration. This is being felt in Canberra and Tokyo just as much as in London, and CSG2025 offers an excellent opportunity to highlight the ability of like-minded middle powers to both stand up and stand together.
Research Fellow (National Security), Council on Geostrategy
Much of the discussion around the CSG2025 deployment has focused on the debate between British commitments in the Indo-Pacific versus in the Euro-Atlantic, or has (rightly) emphasised why the Indo-Pacific matters to the UK alongside the Euro-Atlantic. Meaningful pulsed presence, combined with persistent lower capability presence, has been crucial in unlocking wider diplomatic and economic victories for Britain in the region – the Global Combat Aircraft Programme (GCAP) and AUKUS being the two most obvious. But the contribution to Euro-Atlantic security which CSG2025 will have often goes unfairly overlooked.
This contribution will come in two ways, firstly in the inter-related security dynamics between – as opposed to alongside or versus – the two regions. European security would be heavily undermined by a large-scale conflict in the Indo-Pacific; the only more damaging event would be a direct conflict between NATO and Russia. Efforts to bolster deterrence in the region have direct benefit, which is one of the reasons European CSG deployments to the Indo-Pacific are now a regular occurrence, even after Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
Secondly, Operation HIGHMAST will include exercises in the NATO area of responsibility. The CSG will, for the first part of its deployment, be placed under NATO command and participate in NATO’s Exercise Neptune Strike, designed to test maritime strike capabilities.
The US absence in the CSG is notable (although there will likely be collaboration at various stages), meaning the deployment provides an excellent opportunity to practise UK leadership in action, in preparation for a potential reduced American presence in Europe. Also noteworthy is the fact that CSG assets are being provided by Canada and Norway (alongside Spain); the two countries the Royal Navy would most likely be fighting alongside in a conflict with Russia’s Northern Fleet.
Professor of International Security and Co-Director of Security Research Institute, Lancaster University, and Visiting Fellow, Royal Navy Strategic Studies Centre.
Operation HIGHMAST will see CSG2025 deployed for eight months to conduct exercises and port visits in the Mediterranean, the Indian Ocean and East Asia. In the current geopolitical context, this is a good opportunity for the Royal Navy to demonstrate the UK’s unique ability to operate globally with allies and partners but also, if necessary, independently of NATO and the US.
In either peacetime or in time of crisis, the deployment of a CSG in distant waters and for a prolonged period is an act of naval diplomacy which serves two main purposes: firstly, to enhance credibility to deter adversaries and competitors by demonstrating operational and political readiness; and secondly, to build confidence to reassure allies and overseas partners, and build relationships with ‘swing states’ in the Global South. Indeed, naval confidence-building measures and maritime capacity-building are a subtle way to propagate norms via the adoption of standards and common procedures, which is the first step towards the development of a security community.
As a global projection navy, the Royal Navy enacts concrete and symbolic power. Operation HIGHMAST will demonstrate Britain’s strategic interests in key overseas theatres as well as His Majesty’s (HM) Government’s determination and long-term commitment to freedom of navigation and a stable and secure global maritime order. It will also display the UK’s ability to serve as a link between key maritime players, including the US, Australia and Japan. This will not go unnoticed in Beijing, Moscow and Tehran, but neither in New Delhi nor Jakarta, for whom the future of the global maritime order – and who is leading it – is of utmost importance.
Laughton Professor of Naval History, King’s College London
Deploying the CSG – the British core reinforced by allied warships – and refreshing links with partners in the Indo-Pacific region created on HMS Queen Elizabeth’s mission in 2021-2022, is a significant demonstration of political and economic strength, strategic capability and commitment at a time when the globalised world and the rules-based international order faces significant economic, strategic and political shocks.
As a globally engaged maritime trading nation, reliant on imported fuel, food and raw materials along with vital export markets, Britain has an existential interest in the safe and reliable movement of merchant shipping. This has always been the Royal Navy’s primary function. As well as this, maintaining global cultural connections with a wide range of states, linked by history, and oceans which the Royal Navy has patrolled in peace and war for centuries, is of further interest to the UK.
These connections emphasise the need for a wider national level emphasis on the maritime dimension of national economic activity, from offshore energy to global shipping and services, along with the industrial base to support major projects, exemplified by the indigenous construction of two innovative new aircraft carriers. Preserving a domestic steel industry should be only the first step in that process – reinforcing the fleet, shaping a national shipbuilding strategy and maintaining freedom of the seas would highlight the unique role Britain can play in the 21st century.
Research Fellow (Sea Power), Council on Geostrategy
The deployment of CSGs to the Indo-Pacific is a deliberate and highly symbolic strategic choice, far beyond smaller-scale missions. Aircraft carriers, as the largest and most capable naval vessels, inherently carry a commanding physical presence, both during sea manoeuvres and port visits. This presence has a visibility and impact which smaller warships cannot match, making carriers central to maritime power projection.
In peacetime, naval presence operations are crucial to shaping the perceptions and actions of potential adversaries. These operations serve to deter aggression and demonstrate resolve without direct conflict. The appearance of a British CSG in the Indo-Pacific represents not just military power, but also a commitment to international partnerships, regional stability and adherence to the rules-based international order.
Beyond symbolism, these deployments strengthen relationships with regional allies and partners. Port visits, for instance, provide opportunities for high-level diplomacy and trade talks, as well as for fostering personal connections between naval personnel. These interactions, which build mutual respect and camaraderie, are vital to effective international cooperation and have significant strategic value.
Moreover, participation in multilateral naval exercises enhances operational interoperability. This is critical in conflict scenarios, where the ability of allied navies to coordinate seamlessly can determine the outcome. The exercises conducted during such deployments improve joint operational effectiveness, preparing multinational forces to respond collectively to emerging security challenges.
Despite the ongoing need to monitor Russian naval activity in the Euro-Atlantic theatre, the UK’s continued commitment to Indo-Pacific deployments underscores its dedication to global security. This presence not only asserts solidarity but also contributes tangibly to regional stability, sending a clear message about Britain’s strategic reach and resolve on the world stage.
