UK's £3.5bn flagship aircraft carrier breaks down again ahead of key deployment

UK's £3.5bn flagship aircraft carrier breaks down again ahead of key deploymentThe warship was forced to dock in Norway after encountering the fault. Share Article Share Article Facebook X LinkedIn Reddit Bluesky Email Copy Link Link copied Bookmark Add us as preferred source Comments By Conor Wilson, News Reporter 15:11, Sat, Jun 6, 2026 Updated: 15:12, Sat, Jun 6, 2026 The warship has been dogged by issues since entering service (Image: Getty)Britain’s flagship aircraft carrier has broken down once more as the government continues to drag its heels on defence spending. HMS Prince of Wales, the Royal Navy’s £3.5billion statement warship, has been plagued by issues since entering service in 2019. window.scriptsToLoad.push({url:'https://live.primis.tech/live/liveView.php?s=118222&vp_content=plembed3a6btjknzwqh&cbuster=%%CACHEBUSTER%%&playerApiId=v118222',triggeredBy:'tcfLoaded',delay:1500,containerId:'ovp-primis',title:"Primis player",beforeLoad:()=>{window.top.addEventListener('primisPlayerInit',e=>{try{if(e.detail&&e.detail.playerApiId==="v118222"){if(window.document.getElementsByClassName('jwplayer')[0]){e.detail.float('disable')}}}catch(e){}})},}) The ship, which is set to travel to the United States as part of the country’s commemorations of its 250th anniversary, was forced to dock at a port in Norway after a “technical fault” was detected, the Ministry of Defence (MOD) said. Earlier this month, HMS Prince of Wales set sail from Loch Long, Argyll and Bute, Scotland, for Nordic waters to provide security in the Atlantic and High North regions. Article continues below ADVERTISEMENT Get exclusive defence news and analysis from our experts and more Subscribe Invalid emailWe use your sign-up to provide content in ways you've consented to and to improve our understanding of you. This may include adverts from us and 3rd parties based on our understanding. You can unsubscribe at any time. Read our Privacy PolicyThe ship is generally based in Portsmouth (Image: Get...