Naval Station Norfolk to serve as temporary homeport for British warship

Naval Station Norfolk to serve as temporary homeport for British warship

By THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT STAFF | [email protected] | From The Virginian-Pilot
PUBLISHED: September 29, 2023 at 4:29 p.m. | UPDATED: September 30, 2023 at 12:42 p.m.
Naval Station Norfolk will serve as a temporary homeport for Britain’s largest warship, HMS Prince of Wales, during its East Coast deployment.

Beginning Saturday, the British aircraft carrier will make multiple port calls to Naval Station Norfolk over the next few months as it practices carrier landings and launches in the Atlantic Ocean for the United Kingdom’s F-35 Lightning stealth fighter jets. The vessel is one of the most powerful surface warships ever constructed in the United Kingdom with a size of 70 meters by 280 meters housing a max crew of 1,600.

“These sea states are why the HMS Prince of Wales is operating off the East Coast, to capitalize on the heavy seas that come with hurricane season in the United States,” said Lt. Cmdr. Madie Hansen, public affairs officer for the USS George H. W. Bush Carrier Strike Group.

The Royal Navy warship will also practice operating drones, strike fighters, tilt-rotors and helicopters from both the U.S. Navy and the U.S. Marine Corps.