As the Prince of Wales CSG prepares to depart the Mediterranean and head through the Red Sea, the RAF has deployed additional forces to RAF Akrotiri on Cyprus.
On May 20, 2025, four A330 Voyager multi-role tanker transports departed RAF Brize Norton en route to RAF Akrotiri, the UK’s forward air base located on the island of Cyprus. They join aircraft already stationed at the base as part of Operation Shader, potentially bringing the total of refueling aircraft on site to seven.
In addition to the refueling aircraft, as well as the based Typhoon FGR4s and Shadow intelligence aircraft, two P-8 Poseidon MRA1 maritime patrol aircraft appear to be currently detached to the base. ZP803, according to Flightradar24, last flew from RAF Akrotiri on May 17, while ZP808 has flown 4-5 hour duration sorties on 19, 20, and 21 May.
The surge of movements to Akrotiri is almost certainly related to the nearby presence of HMS Prince of Wales and its carrier strike group (CSG) as part of the CSG 25 deployment, named Operation Highmast. After a brief visit alongside at Souda Bay, Crete, HMS Prince of Wales is now once again at sea in the Mediterranean and is imminently expected to transit the Suez Canal and head through the Red Sea.
Resupplied✅
Rested ✅
Ready ✅
Thank you to our Hellenic hosts and Multinational partners for their support as the UK #CSG25 Strike Group assembled and rested in Souda Bay.
🇬🇧🇬🇷🇳🇴🇨🇦🇪🇸🇺🇸#StrongerTogether #OpHighmast pic.twitter.com/iaKrzbeMYY
— UK Carrier Strike Group (@COMUKCSG) May 21, 2025
Additional protective assets for the CSG in the Eastern Mediterranean are an understandable precaution in waters frequented by Russian forces, and close to a number of conflict areas. Though, for this deployment, the carrier and its escorts will be at their most vulnerable as they transit the Red Sea and through the area of influence of the Houthi rebel group based in Yemen. Although the Houthis have agreed a ceasefire deal with the United States requiring the suspension of attacks on Red Sea shipping, it is unknown how stable this truce is. Houthi forces have continued to attack Israel, stressing that it does not consider Israeli-linked targets as covered by the deal.
Whether they will consider the British-led fleet under these parameters remains to be seen – in some quarters the UK has been accused of assisting Israel’s war in Gaza with surveillance flights by Shadow aircraft, though more likely these are primarily gathering intelligence for the UK government’s own analysis. It seems unlikely that the Houthis would risk angering the U.S. through attacking a close American ally, but the attraction of such a prized target, with no U.S. Navy escort directly attached, might flip the scales. The risk is certainly great enough for a heightened level of security around the task group.
Confused article about plans for carrier strike group Red Sea transit implies HMS Prince of Wales is just a vulnerable asset to be defended rather than an offensive platform that could strike Yemen.
Claims:
Carrier to be locked down in “defence stations”
“RAF Typhoons providing…
— Navy Lookout (@NavyLookout) May 4, 2025
The additional Voyager aircraft may be used to support protective combat air patrols (CAPs) of Typhoons and F-35s to allow for rapid detection and counter-strike capabilities should any attack be launched against the carrier group. Suggestion of pre-emptive strikes against Houthi forces seem unlikely, due to the aforementioned ceasefire deal. While the UK is not a direct party to the deal, it almost certainly will be hoping it, as part of the overall U.S. coalition that conducted attacks on the group, will be covered through it.
Notably, the U.S. Navy carrier that was positioned in the Red Sea and undertook many airstrikes against the Houthis – losing three F/A-18 Super Hornets during those operations – has now departed through the Suez into the Mediterranean. The USS Harry S. Truman’s departure has left the Red Sea without an aircraft carrier for the first time in a number of months, although the USS Carl Vinson is still in the region operating in the Arabian Sea.
Alternatively, it has been suggested at least some of the extra Voyager aircraft may be used to support a return flight of F-35Bs to the UK. 18 F-35Bs are currently deployed on HMS Prince of Wales, operated by 617 Squadron and 809 Naval Air Squadron. It has long been rumored that as well as a temporary increase to 24 jets, to satisfy full operating capability (FOC) goals, it may be the case that the ship’s fighter complement might also decrease during some parts of its voyage.
With the UK’s total operational F-35 airframe count currently in the mid to high 30s, sustaining an eight month deployment with 18 aircraft, let alone 24, would be an extremely difficult task while also allowing for any training or development requirements at home. 207 Squadron, the UK F-35 operational conversion unit (OCU), is due to continue instruction of new pilots, and qualified flying instructors, throughout 2025 and as such will need airframes available to use.
The most recent delivery of F-35s to the UK took place earlier in May. According to previously mentioned timetables, the remaining aircraft of the UK’s first tranche order of 48 aircraft are due to be delivered over the coming year.
RC-135 Heads East
As Akrotiri’s based fleet was bolstered, an RAF RC-135W Rivet Joint also transited from the UK and over the Mediterranean Sea. Instead of dropping into the Cyprus base as some expected, the aircraft continued and eventually landed at Al-Udeid Air Base, Qatar. The airframe, ZZ666, joins ZZ665 which is already in Qatar alongside U.S. Air Force RC-135s. Al-Udeid is the primary operating location for RC-135s in this region, and the RAF and U.S. fleets of these signals intelligence (SIGINT) aircraft are very closely intertwined.
First operational flight out of Al Udeid with tracking since a quick popup track April 12th by RJ 64-14848. RAF RC-135 ZZ665 as Safari-02 is RTB from a mission over Iraq, and not along the Syrian border. It’s an MLAT derived track, which is unusual for the RAF. They tend to be… pic.twitter.com/alQRAqLNzv
— MeNMyRC (@MeNMyRC1) April 30, 2025
We will have to wait and see whether ZZ666’s deployment is an addition to the deployed RC-135 force, or whether ZZ665 will return home over the coming days. ZZ665 has only been forward deployed to Qatar for around a month, arriving at the base on Apr. 17. It has flown a number of sorties since arriving, monitoring activities while operating over Iraq. It is possible that an additional airframe was deployed to allow for other sorties to be flown in support of the carrier group, gathering intelligence on potential threats before and while it transits through the Middle East.
