HMS Prince of Wales (R09) and its escorts departed the Plymouth and Portsmouth naval bases on Tuesday, “beginning an eight-month mission to demonstrate U.K. and allied collective resolve and determination to maintain security and freedom from the Atlantic to the Pacific” reads a Royal Navy (RN) release.

The United Kingdom’s HMS Prince of Wales aircraft carrier is set to embark on a Western Pacific deployment later this month. Marking only the second time a British carrier has been dispatched to this region,

In total, upwards of 4,500 British military personnel will be involved in the deployment, including more than 260 from Culdrose. Crowds wave and cheer as the Royal Navy aircraft carrier, HMS Prince of Wales,