Queen Elizabeth aircraft carrier class ( Program CVF ) on active duty

[Forest Green]

Operation Firecrest: HMS Prince of Wales Demonstrates Royal Navy’s ‘Hybrid’ Shift​

https://www.navalnews.com/naval-news/2026/07/operation-firecrest-hms-prince-of-wales-hybrid-navy/

Based on board the Queen Elizabeth-class aircraft carrier HMS Prince of Wales, the CSG’s airwing currently includes eight F-35Bs, three Merlin Mk2 anti-submarine warfare helicopters, two Wildcat HMA Mk2 multi-role helicopters, and two Malloy T150B remotely piloted UAVs. Two more Malloys are embarked in the Type 45 destroyer HMS Duncan, the CSG’s ‘air defender’.

 

[H_K]

Operation Firecrest: HMS Prince of Wales Demonstrates Royal Navy’s ‘Hybrid’ Shift​

https://www.navalnews.com/naval-news/2026/07/operation-firecrest-hms-prince-of-wales-hybrid-navy/

A cool buzzword and 2 slow UAVs flying 68kg payloads to the horizon at less than 50 knots... replacing 16+ supersonic stealth fighters flying 2.5+ tonnes to 600nm+.

Only the Royal Navy would have the audacity to spin that as progress or the future of naval aviation!

 

[Hood]

Doubtless in May 1912 plenty of people sniggered when the Shorts S.38 took off from HMS Hibernia's bows compared with the broadside a dreadnought could deliver (an 13.5in shell weighed roughly the same as an S.38) (although saying that, the S.38 has better performance than those Malloy T150Bs...)

 

[Forest Green]

I think the idea is to test to the networking and software, rather than an actual warfighting capability. Future pairing might include X-Bats, then you'd have a capability.