Britain’s aircraft carrier HMS Prince of Wales has been placed under Nato command for the first time as ex-Navy chief warns conflict with Russia risks nuclear escalation.
Defence Secretary John Healey confirmed that the carrier and its F-35 fighter jets are now committed to Nato exercises in the Mediterranean. He and Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper are in Naples, where they will meet their Italian counterparts on board the ship.
The decision gives Nato direct command of a full carrier strike group for the first time in the alliance’s history. Alongside HMS Prince of Wales, the group includes support vessels and an embarked fleet of F-35s, several of which have already taken part in the Nato Exercise Falcon Strike with Italian jets.
Mr Healey said the deployment demonstrated the Government’s “Nato-first” approach set out in the Strategic Defence Review earlier this year, which signalled a pivot back towards preparing for state-on-state conflict in Europe.
“We are in a new era of threat that demands a new era for defence,” he said. “Our strength comes from hard power and strong alliances, so it is fitting to mark this moment alongside one of our closest Nato allies in Italy. Their F-35s have been operating from the carrier to demonstrate the deep partnership between our militaries.”
Ms Cooper said the deployment showed “partnerships we build abroad make us stronger at home”, pointing to the UK-Italy collaboration on the next generation of combat aircraft.
“These joint exercises in the Bay of Naples are the clearest demonstration of how the UK is working with our allies to keep our continent safe, deterring our adversaries and enhancing our ability to respond together to emerging threats,” she added.
The carrier strike group will next take part in Nato’s Neptune Strike, a major exercise testing the alliance’s ability to conduct maritime strikes, launch jets from carriers, and carry out amphibious landings. The deployment follows five months in the Indo-Pacific, where the group undertook drills with Japan, Australia and India.
As the carrier arrives in the Mediterranean, Britain’s former First Sea Lord, Admiral Lord West, has warned that tensions with Russia are edging perilously close to a point where a nuclear confrontation can no longer be ruled out.
Lord West said the UK was already “effectively at war” with Moscow, citing Russia’s campaign of “grey zone” attacks, including sabotage of undersea cables and drone incursions along Nato’s eastern flank.
Speaking on the Lord Speaker’s podcast, he said: “It’s quite difficult to see how one’s going to get out of this conflict because one doesn’t want a full war between Nato and Russia. They would lose it. And the danger with them losing it is, would they then make that stupid mistake of going nuclear?”
His warning follows similar concerns raised by former Nato Secretary General Lord Robertson, who said Britain is “under-prepared, under-insured and under attack” as Russia steps up cyber operations, espionage attempts and covert sabotage across Europe.
Sir Ken McCallum, the MI5 Director General, recently said Russia is “committed to causing havoc and destruction” worldwide but is increasingly relying on disposable proxy operatives after its intelligence officers were expelled across Europe following the invasion of Ukraine.
Lord Robertson said: “You wouldn’t tell from Parliament or people walking around the streets, but we are under attack in the cyber world. You could say it’s just a coincidence that all of these cyber outages have taken place in the last few weeks, but they can’t all be coincidental. The organisation of sabotage right across the continent of Europe has undoubtedly been organised by the GRU.”
He warned that Vladimir Putin’s ambitions stretch far beyond eastern Ukraine, raising alarms in neighbouring states such as Moldova and Azerbaijan. “They are much bigger than that and much more fundamental to our security,” he said.
Lord Robertson added that supporting President Volodymyr Zelenskyy was crucial “to change the mind of Vladimir Putin”. “He’s got to be persuaded he cannot win. And at the moment he’s not winning. He’s only making tiny territorial movements.”
