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By Sean Rayment
Britain will send a Carrier Strike Group back to sea in 2026 in a major show of force across the Euro-Atlantic and High North, reinforcing NATO’s deterrence at a time of rising Russian threats in the region.
Known as ‘Operation Firecrest’ and led by HMS Prince of Wales, the largest warship in the Royal Navy, the UK will deploy the strike group across the North Atlantic and Arctic. It will include world-class Royal Navy warships and RAF fifth-generation F-35 fighter jets to bolster defence and security.
The move comes as Russia’s military activity in the North Atlantic continues to increase. Over the past two years, there has been a 30 per cent increase in Russian Navy vessels threatening UK waters.
The deployment will see the UK and US working side by side on Euro-Atlantic security around the North American East Coast, boosting the historic alliance between the two nations. The Carrier Strike Group will sail across the Atlantic to visit a US port, with US jets also expected to operate from the flight deck of HMS Prince of Wales.
The deployment will include activity under NATO’s Arctic Sentry mission, launched this week, strengthening the Alliance’s security in a region where melting sea ice is opening new routes and increasing the threat from hostile state activity.
With growing concern over Russian operations in the Greenland-Iceland-UK gap and the increased risk to critical undersea cables and pipelines, the deployment will send a clear message that the UK will always defend its waters, protect critical infrastructure and stand shoulder to shoulder with its Allies.
Defence Secretary John Healey MP said: “I’m proud that we’re stepping up UK leadership on High North and Atlantic security.
“This deployment will help make Britain warfighting ready, boost our contribution to NATO and strengthen our operations with key allies, keeping the UK secure at home and strong abroad.”
Operation Firecrest will involve thousands of personnel from all three services of the Armed Forces, demonstrating Britain’s ability to project force wherever it is needed and operate seamlessly within NATO. The Carrier Strike Group will exercise alongside NATO’s Standing NATO Maritime Group 1, itself being led by the UK, with HMS Dragon acting as the command ship of the NATO maritime group throughout 2026.
Parts of the deployment will fall under NATO command, including close cooperation with the operational headquarters Joint Force Command Norfolk, which is set to be under the command of a British officer for the first time.
The deployment will be carried out alongside key allies including the United States, Canada and Joint Expeditionary Force nations, building on the UK’s growing defence cooperation in the High North and reaffirming the strength of the historic UK–US defence relationship.
This reinforces the UK’s commitment to High North security and builds on the Defence Secretary’s commitment to double the number of UK troops deployed to Norway from 1,000 to 2,000.
It also reaffirms the Government’s commitment to stepping up on defence. The UK has committed to the largest sustained increase in defence spending since the end of the Cold War, hitting 2.6 per cent of GDP from 2027, to ensure that Britain and our allies are safe.
The deployment follows the success of the UK’s 2025 Carrier Strike Group mission to the Indo-Pacific, which saw over 1,000 F-35 sorties and activity with more than 30 nations, and resulted in the UK’s Carrier Strike Group being certified fully ‘mission ready’ and committed to NATO.