The flagship of the British fleet, the HMS Prince of Wales aircraft carrier worth £3.5 billion, has once again faced technical problems. The malfunction was discovered while the ship was docked in the Norwegian port of Stavanger, marking another episode in the series of breakdowns of one of the most expensive ships of the Royal Navy.
The HMS Prince of Wales aircraft carrier, valued at £3.5 billion, encountered a technical malfunction while docked in the Norwegian city of Stavanger.
The ship set sail from Scotland earlier this month and was supposed to carry out security tasks in the Atlantic Ocean and Arctic region, reports the Independent.
The UK Ministry of Defence described the issue as "minor" and emphasized that after completing the necessary work, the aircraft carrier would be able to resume its mission in the coming days.
This is far from the first technical failure aboard the HMS Prince of Wales. In 2022, the aircraft carrier was forced to cut short its deployment due to a serious breakdown while en route to joint exercises with the United States Navy. The incident was widely discussed in the British media and, according to their reports, negatively impacted the morale of the crew.
The HMS Prince of Wales is one of the two largest and most powerful ships in the history of the Royal Navy. The aircraft carrier can carry up to 72 aircraft, including modern F-35B fighters. Its range reaches 10,000 nautical miles.
In its current deployment, the flagship is accompanied by the destroyer HMS Duncan and the supply tanker RFA Tidespring, which are part of the British fleet's strike group.
The new malfunction of the HMS Prince of Wales has once again drawn attention to the reliability issues of one of the key ships of the British Navy. Despite the UK Ministry of Defence's assurances regarding the minor nature of the breakdown, the recurring technical problems continue to spark discussions about the condition and operational readiness of the costly flagship of the Royal Navy.
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