'Deliberate message' sent as HMS Prince of Wales fighter jets join massive air drills

'Deliberate message' sent as HMS Prince of Wales fighter jets join massive air drills

Fighter jets took to the skies over an area of 700 miles

Royal Navy F-35 Lightnings from HMS Prince of Wales joined NATO’s Ramstein Flag 26 exercise across Europe

The F-35Bs of 809 Naval Air Squadron, one of two front-line UK Lightning formations alongside the RAF’s 617 Squadron, were embarked on the Portsmouth-based aircraft carrier. Merlin and Wildcat helicopters also operated from the ship’s flight deck, providing part of the UK’s aerial contribution to the exercise. Sorties were launched from the North Sea, often in unseasonal June weather. Air-to-air refuelling tankers extended the range of the steal…