According to foreign media reports, the British Navy's Prince of Wales aircraft carrier strike group recently joined forces with multiple naval forces to jointly carry out global deployment tasks. The UK intends to use this action to demonstrate its military deterrence capabilities and consolidate its cooperative relationship with its allies. However, the British army currently has a series of problems such as decline in personnel quality and delayed equipment updates, and its combat capabilities and operational effectiveness have been greatly reduced.

  Large scale of action

  According to the British Ministry of Defense, on April 22, the British Navy's Prince of Wales aircraft carrier set sail from Portsmouth and led an aircraft carrier strike group composed of warships, supply ships, submarines, etc. to the Mediterranean and the Indo-Pacific region, starting an eight-month global deployment mission. In light of relevant foreign media reports, the British Navy's deployment operation is huge.

  All the British elites were released. It is reported that during the eight-month deployment operation, the British aircraft carrier strike group carried about 4,000 British personnel, of which 2,500 were from the Navy, nearly 600 were from the Air Force, and about 900 were from the Army. In terms of combat platforms, the Prince of Wales aircraft carrier is equipped with helicopter and drone transport formations, as well as 24 F-35B fighter jets affiliated to the 617th Squadron of the Air Force and the 809th Squadron of the Navy Aviation Corps respectively. In addition, the British army dispatched a Type 45 missile destroyer, a Type 23 missile frigate, an alert-class nuclear-powered attack submarine and a fuel supply ship.

  Coordinated support from multiple countries. It is reported that 12 countries will send troops to cooperate with the UK's operation. The Canadian Ministry of Defense announced that the country's navy will carry out the Operation Horizon mission in the Indo-Pacific region, during which the USS Quebec City missile frigate will join the British aircraft carrier strike group at a specific stage. The Norwegian Ministry of Defense announced that it would send the USS Amundsen missile frigate to participate in the joint deployment of the British aircraft carrier strike group throughout the process, and send the USS Maud oil supply ship to provide phased maritime support. In addition, the Spanish Navy announced that it would send a missile frigate to join the British aircraft carrier strike group for a four-month overseas deployment. Sweden said it would send some staff officers to participate in the British aircraft carrier strike group operation.

  Significant deterrence intention

  British media said that this deployment is the first global deployment of the USS Prince of Wales aircraft carrier strike group, and the UK intends to send a double signal.

  On the one hand, demonstrate military deterrence capabilities. British Defense Secretary John Healy declared that the operation could demonstrate the UK's ability to deploy military forces worldwide, and emphasized that only a few countries around the world can complete military deployments of this scale. The British Ministry of Defense stated that during this operation, the British aircraft carrier strike group will show the outside world its equipment performance and combat capabilities, especially the deployment can demonstrate the full combat capabilities of the F-35B fighter jets. British Air Force Air Wing Commander John Butcher said that the British army has demonstrated stronger air force projection capabilities to the outside world by deploying two F-35B squadrons.

  On the other hand, deepen the cooperative relationship between allies. Foreign media said that from the perspective of NATO framework, the British aircraft carrier strike group will integrate into the NATO command system during its deployment and participate in NATO's "Neptune Strike" multinational joint exercises, which will help the British army and other NATO member navies to adjust tactics in high-end maritime combat scenarios and improve the tightness of NATO military coordination; as far as the Indo-Pacific region is concerned, British Deputy Defense Minister Pollard said that this is the British aircraft carrier strike group that has entered the Indo-Pacific region again since the "Queen Elizabeth" aircraft carrier strike group performed a global deployment mission in 2021. During the operation, the British army will visit ports of many countries, conduct joint exercises with the United States, India, Singapore and Malaysia, go to Australia to participate in the joint exercise of the "Sabers" of the 19 countries, and conduct joint training with the Japanese Self-Defense Force.

  Weak military core

  Some analysts believe that this deployment is an initiative by the UK to demonstrate its global military strength and demonstrate its position as a military power. However, whether from the military development trend after the Cold War or from the actual performance of the British army, it has exposed the many structural defects of the British military system and it is difficult to support its global military strategic goals.

  The quality of the personnel is worrying. Recently, the British Times quoted British Secretary of State for Veterans Cains as saying that there are certain problems with the British military's combat capabilities. Due to health factors, nearly one-fifth of the country's conventional troops have limited combat capabilities. It is reported that among the more than 71,000 officers and soldiers of the British Army, 16,000 were unable to participate in military deployment or could only perform limited military tasks; 3,721 Air Force personnel were judged to be ineffective in combat; 2,922 Navy officers and soldiers were unable to go to sea.

  The equipment is not connected. The British Ministry of Defense plans to significantly reduce weapons and equipment by 2025, and the three armies of the sea, army and air will be affected. British media described this move as "a difficult time for the British armed forces." According to foreign media speculation, the British Navy's main battleships are likely to be difficult to upgrade and connect in the future. For example, the Type 23 frigate retires faster than its replacement Type 26 and Type 31 frigate installation speeds. The Prince of Wales aircraft carrier strike group that will be deployed to the Indo-Pacific region is only equipped with one Type 23 frigate and one Type 45 destroyer. When the USS Elizabeth aircraft carrier strike group is deployed globally in 2021, it will be equipped with two Type 23 frigates and two Type 45 destroyers. From this we can see that the British naval combat platform has tight resources, and the planning and effectiveness of subsequent military operations may be subject to certain restrictions.

[Editor in charge: Gao Qiang]