The $3.85bn HMS Prince of Wales, carrier of F-35B Lightning II fighter jets, has returned to the UK Royal Navy after undergoing engineering repairs

Last year there was a nasty incident involving the UK Royal Navy ship HMS Prince of Wales. The newest aircraft carrier broke down, but it has recently rejoined the British Navy.

Here's What We Know

HMS Prince of Wales embarked on a landmark mission in the summer of 2022. The £3bn ($3.85bn) aircraft carrier left the Portsmouth naval base but was forced to anchor near the Isle of Wight in the British Channel less than 24 hours later.

The cause of the malfunction was damage to the shaft. It was discovered thanks to divers. Before that, the aircraft carrier was under repair for almost two years after water got into the engine room.

This time the work on the restoration of HMS Prince of Wales was carried out by specialists from BAE Systems and Babcock. The repairs took nine months to complete. The ship returned to the Royal Navy last week and will prepare for future missions in the international waters of the Atlantic Ocean.

HMS Prince of Wales is one of two Queen Elizabeth class aircraft carriers. The ship has a displacement of 65,000 tonnes and is 284 metres long. It has a range of 19,000 kilometres and a speed of up to 59 km/h.

The aircraft carrier is equipped with three Phalanx CIWS artillery systems, four DS30M MK2 machine guns and six M134 Miniguns, which can be replaced with Browning. HMS Prince of Wales can carry 24-36 fifth-generation F-35B Lightning II fighters. The aviation group also includes Chinook, Apache, Merlin and Wildcat helicopters.

Source: Royal Navy