Announcement made at Japan’s Yokosuka Naval
Base.
2025 deployment another key step in upholding
Indo-Pacific security
Previous task group travelled more than 55,000 nautical
miles and made port calls to 40 countries
The UK’s Carrier Strike Group will visit Japan as part of the
flagship 2025 Indo-Pacific deployment, Defence Secretary has announced today.
The group, comprised of an aircraft carrier, her escorts and her
aircraft, will work alongside the Japanese Self Defence Forces
and other partners to help defend peace and stability in the
Indo-Pacific.
On a visit to Japan’s Yokosuka Naval Base, the Defence Secretary
highlighted the importance of the UK exercising the best
capabilities our Armed Forces have to offer alongside partners in
the region.
Following the inaugural deployment in 2021, the Carrier Strike
Group 2025 highlights the strength of the UK’s leadership in
seeking to uphold stability in the Indo-Pacific. This has been
bolstered by the Royal Navy’s persistent presence in the region
through HMS Spey and HMS Tamar, as well as the landmark Global
Combat Air Programme collaboration.
Defence Secretary said:
The strength and global reach of the UK’s Armed Forces should
never be underestimated. The Carrier Strike Group 2025 is another
tangible example of our ability to deploy globally.
Such deployments send a strong deterrence message while
presenting important opportunities for engagements with key
partners. Japan is our closest security partner in Asia and the
task group’s visit to the country will only serve to strengthen
our military and diplomatic ties.
A Carrier Strike Group is a versatile and lethal resource that
few countries possess. Always led by an aircraft carrier embarked
with F-35B Lightning jets, the rest of the UK formation can be
made up of submarines, warships and support vessels, including
from other allied navies.
The Carrier Strike Group offers cutting-edge air, surface and
underwater defence, but it is also a focal point for the
worldwide democratic activity. HMS Queen Elizabeth led the 2021
task group on a journey of 55,000 nautical miles, stretching from
the Eastern Atlantic to Japan and back, with the deployment
seeing UK military and diplomatic engagement with more than forty
nations.
