A source has told MailOnline today that the "cash-strapped" Royal Navy could be forced to sell the HMS Prince of Wales aircraft carrier, usually based in Portsmouth.
Official sources said while the Navy remained committed to both carriers, “changes in government and budgets” may alter this assessment.
The aircraft carrier has just arrived in Norway – to take part in a NATO exercise until the end of March, dubbed “NATO’s biggest exercise in decades” and designed to demonstrate “collective security and deterrence”.
The HMS Prince of Wales had to be deployed at short notice due to a fault in the propeller shaft coupling of her sister ship, HMS Queen Elizabeth, which had originally been due to sail for Norway.
Retired Rear Admiral, Chris Parry says that the warships were getting a “reputation for not being reliable”
Captain Will Blackett, the Commanding Officer of the HMS Prince of Wales said. “I am immensely proud of how my ship’s company and their families have responded to this short-notice tasking.”
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