HMS Prince of Wales (R09)

The Bulbous bow of HMS Prince of Wales at Rosyth, May 2014
History
United Kingdom
Name:	HMS Prince of Wales
Namesake:	Prince of Wales
Ordered:	20 May 2008
Builder:	BAE Systems Surface Ships Thales Group Babcock Marine
Laid down:	26 May 2011
Launched:	2017 (planned)
Commissioned:	2020 (planned)
Homeport:	HMNB Portsmouth
Identification:	Pennant number: R09 Deck code: P IMO number: 4907907
Motto:	Ich Dien ("I Serve")
Status:	Under Construction
Badge:
General characteristics
Class and type:	Queen Elizabeth-class aircraft carrier
Displacement:	70,600 tonnes (69,500 long tons; 77,800 short tons)
Length:	280 m (920 ft)
Beam:	39 m (128 ft)(waterline) 73 m (240 ft) overall
Draught:	11 metres
Decks:	16,000 square metres
Speed:	25 knots (46 km/h)
Range:	10,000 nautical miles (19,000 km)
Capacity:	1,600
Troops:	250
Complement:	679
Sensors and processing systems:	S1850M long range radar Type 997 Artisan 3D medium range radar Ultra Electronics Series 2500 Electro Optical System (EOS) Glide Path Camera (GPC)
Armament:	Phalanx CIWS 30mm guns and mini-guns to counter asymmetric threats.
Aircraft carried:	Current planned Carrier Air Wing of up to 40 aircraft (50 full load - can be expanded to 70+): F-35 Lightning II Chinook CH47 Apache AH64 Merlin HM2 and HC4 Wildcat HMA2 and AH1 Maritime Airborne Surveillance Capability (MASC) – Airborne Early Warning aircraft
Aviation facilities:	Hangar below deck Two aircraft lifts Ski jump

HMS Prince of Wales is the second Queen Elizabeth-class aircraft carrier under construction for the Royal Navy, with plans for active service from 2020. She is the eighth Royal Navy ship to have the name HMS Prince of Wales. Construction of the ship began in 2011 at Rosyth Dockyard and in April 2016, was said to be around 80% structurally complete.

Unlike most large aircraft carriers, Prince of Wales is not fitted with catapults and arrestor wires and is instead designed to operate V/STOL aircraft; the ship is currently planned to carry up to 40 F-35B Lightning II stealth multirole fighters and Merlin helicopters for airborne early warning and anti-submarine warfare. Though the class is capable of supporting 70+ F-35B. The design emphasises flexibility, with accommodation for 250 Royal Marines and the ability to support them with attack helicopters and troop transports up to and larger than Chinook size.

In 2010, the British government announced that Prince of Wales would be either sold or mothballed due to budget cuts. However, In 2014, during the 2014 NATO Summit in Wales, Prime Minister David Cameron announced that the aircraft carrier would be brought into active service. This commitment was later reaffirmed in the government's Strategic Defence and Security Review 2015 which was published in November 2015.

Prince of Wales is set to be handed over to the Royal Navy in 2019, and be fully ready for front-line duties around the globe from 2023.

The ship is identical in design to its sister ship and first-of-class HMS Queen Elizabeth (R08).