Overview

• HMS Prince of Wales, USS George Washington and USS America have linked up with Japan’s JS Kaga in the Philippine Sea for a nine-day joint F-35B drill under Operation Highmast.
• Pilots are conducting integrated cross-deck take-offs and landings aboard allied carriers alongside tactical anti-submarine warfare and night flight exercises.
• Japan has taken delivery of its first four F-35B jets and is upgrading its helicopter carriers to operate the STOVL variant by 2026–28.
• The US Navy’s George Washington Carrier Strike Group and amphibious ready group America are participating alongside Royal Navy, JMSDF and partner navies from Australia, Norway and Spain.
• The exercise aims to deepen multinational readiness and reinforce a rules-based order in key Indo-Pacific sea lanes.