HMS Prince of Wales: Royal Navy takes command in Portsmouth
The Royal Navy and RAF have teamed up with the US to destroy and sink a warship in the first exercise of its kind in 18 years. Type 23 frigate HMS Westminster, a Wildcat helicopter and three RAF Typhoons were involved in the live-fire exercise, which used high-powered weapons to sink the decommissioned 138-meter frigate USS Boone.
The North Atlantic exercise marked the first time in 18 years that the Royal Navy had targeted it at a real warship and the first time Typhoons had been used to drop live munitions onto a warship at sea.
The Americans used their multi-role SM-6 missile launched by the destroyer USS Arleigh Burke, before US Air Force F-15E Eagles, assigned to 494th Fighter Squadron, led several air-to-surface Joint Direct Attack Munitions against ex-USS Boone.
Commander Ed Moss-Ward, Commanding Officer of HMS Westminster, said: “Atlantic Thunder has demonstrated that British and US naval and air forces can work together to deliver an end-to-end kill chain against a long-range maritime target. .
“The integration of high-performance weapons, sensors and communications with our NATO allies is key to the alliance’s collective war capability, as demonstrated by the sinking exercise.
HMS Westminster and RAF Typhoons sunk ex-USS Boone as part of live fire drill (Image: Getty/PA)
A harpoon missile is launched from HMS Westminster (Image: Defence)
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“The shelling has supported the development of the Royal Navy’s targeting and weapons capabilities and provides an opportunity to provide realistic training to validate tactics and operational procedures.”
A Navy spokesman said: “It was a rare, live test of complex weapons against a realistic target far out at sea and tested the strength and accuracy of naval and air forces, giving allies hands-on experience hitting targets at sea from great distances. distance and proving the capability of various advanced warfare and targeting techniques.”
He added that Type 23 frigate HMS Westminster fired two Harpoon anti-ship missiles at the same time that a US P-8 Poseidon patrol aircraft launched one with 660 kg high explosive that attacked the ex-USS Boone at the same time.
The spokesman said: “The frigate’s Wildcat helicopter quickly followed suit and slammed Martlet air-to-surface missiles into the hull of the Boone.
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HMS Westminster with ex-USS Boone in the background (Image: Defence)
A harpoon missile is launched from HMS Westminster (Image: Defence)
“This was the first firing of the Fleet Air Arm’s new anti-ship weapon at a realistic target at sea – until now, Martlet had only been used against purpose-built targets.”
The Wildcat’s crew remained airborne and used an onboard laser-targeting pod to guide a Typhoon fighter from 41 Squadron RAF to launch Paveway IV precision-guided munitions against the target.
It was the first time an RAF Typhoon had dropped ammunition on a warship used as a maritime target and also the first time a Royal Navy helicopter had guided the Paveway IV on its bull’s-eye. The Navy spokesman added that all toxic materials and pollutants had been removed from the USS Boone before it was used as a target.
Lieutenant Ross Gallagher of 815 Naval Air Squadron, commander of Westminster’s Wildcat helicopter, said: “The exercise provided the Wildcat with a great opportunity to demonstrate the Martlet missile system and to drop Paveway IV by Laser Target Designate for Typhoon.”
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A harpoon missile fired from HMS Westminster (Image: Defence)
USS Boone, which was retired in 2012, was towed from Philadelphia to Campbelltown, Scotland, where it arrived last month, according to UK Defense Journal.
A source told the same publication that the main purpose of the exercise was to test a new US-oriented satellite.
The Oliver Hazard Perry frigate USS Boone served in the United States Navy from 1982 to 2012.
She is named after Vice Admiral Joel Thompson Boone, a Medal of Honor recipient and the most decorated medical officer of World War I.
A harpoon missile heads towards ex-USS Boone (Image: Defence)
Ex-USS Boone is now on the seabed where it remains the property of the US government.
The joint exercise comes after the Royal Navy’s flagship, HMS Queen Elizabeth, departed earlier this month to join a US deployment in lieu of its sister ship that broke down off the Isle of Wight.
HMS Prince of Wales hobbled back to Portsmouth Naval Base after a clutch on the starboard propeller shaft broke.
The £3 billion aircraft carrier was due to go into drydock to undergo repairs.
The Navy did not specify which of HMS Prince of Wales’s diplomatic missions and military exercises would be carried out by HMS Queen Elizabeth.
The program included flight tests of F-35B Lightning jets and port stops in New York, Halifax in Canada and the Caribbean.
But the Royal Navy confirmed it would be in New York to host the Atlantic Future Forum, a defense conference aimed at strengthening ties between the UK and the US.
Following the US engagements, HMS Queen Elizabeth would return to Europe to participate in operations in the Baltic and Mediterranean with NATO partners.
This month also saw three Royal Navy warships shadow a Russian naval task force in waters close to the UK.
HMS Westminster, HMS Lancaster and HMS Richmond followed the Slava-class cruiser, Marshal Ustinov, the sister ship of the ill-fated Moskva that sank in the Black Sea in April.
They also kept watch over the Udaloy-class destroyer Vice Admiral Kulakov and the tanker Vyazma as the three ships headed home from the eastern Mediterranean after supporting the Russian invasion of Ukraine since February.