Engineers help embark F-35B squadron onto HMS Prince of Wales

The embarkation means that for the first time in nearly 15 years a Royal Navy fast jet squadron is operating from a Royal Navy aircraft carrier.

F-35B Lightning stealth fighters from 809 Naval Air Squadron, supported by their counterpart RAF Squadron 617, The Dambusters, have joined HMS Prince of Wales in the North Sea for a month of training before the squadron and the ship take part in an eight-month global deployment in 2025.

The fifth-generation jets made the flight from their base at RAF Marham in Norfolk to the aircraft carrier where personnel will now learn to operate from an aircraft carrier and refamiliarise with working at sea.

Commander Nick Smith said the embarkation of the F-35Bs, supported by engineers, technicians, armourers, security experts and more, is a milestone moment for the squadron, which formed at the end of 2023 as the second of two UK front-line F-35B squadrons.

“This is a big moment for 809 Naval Air Squadron, a vital building block to working up with the carrier strike group in preparation for the deployment next year,” he said in a statement. “To be the commanding officer of a squadron with such a proud heritage is a huge privilege. We are still in our infancy forming as an F-35B squadron, so joining a carrier for the first time is truly a milestone.”

As with the two other Lightning formations based at RAF Marham, 617 and 207 Squadrons, it draws its personnel from the RAF and Fleet Air Arm.

“For me, it’s about forging one team, embracing everything from operating from the flight deck to arming and maintaining the F-35s in the hangar,” said Commander Smith.

Royal Navy Aircraft carriers HMS Prince of Wales and HMS Queen Elizabeth were preceded by Invincible class carriers made up of HMS Invincible, HMS Illustrious, and HMS Ark Royal, all of which were decommissioned between 2005 and 2014. The last flight of a Harrier fast jet took off from HMS Ark Royal on November 24, 2010.

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