Ahead of the largest Nato exercise since the Cold War, F-35B Lightning jets have landed on the Royal Navy warship HMS Prince of Wales.

The Lightning jets of 617 Squadron took off from RAF Marham on Monday to join the aircraft carrier before participating in Exercise Steadfast Defender 24.

During the exercise, Nato will look to demonstrate its ability to reinforce the Euro-Atlantic area via the trans-Atlantic movement of forces from North America.

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The 65,000-tonne warship currently sailing in the North Sea, previously carried out exercises with F-35B jets during a visit to the eastern US last autumn.

HMS Prince of Wales sailed from Portsmouth last week at short notice after its sister ship HMS Queen Elizabeth had to cancel her departure when last-minute checks found an issue with the starboard propeller coupling.

Crews of both Queen Elizabeth-class carriers and dockyard staff worked around the clock to ensure HMS Prince of Wales had everything she needed.

HMS Prince of Wales will head a UK Carrier Strike Group for the exercise which, along with the jets, will include 11 helicopters as well as Royal Navy escort ships and support vessels from the Royal Fleet Auxiliary, including frigate HMS Portland and tanker RFA Tidesurge.

A Royal Navy spokesman said: “It will lead an international taskforce taking part in Steadfast Defender – an exercise across multiple regions and domains from land and sea to air and space.

“Spanning several months and thousands of kilometres, it will see tens of thousands of personnel work together to showcase Nato’s ability to deter enemies and defend allied territory.”

Captain Colin McGannity, Carrier Air Wing and Strike Warfare Commander said: “It is always an exciting moment when F-35B Lightnings join the Carrier Strike Group at sea.

“It’s winter in the North Atlantic and we will face harsh weather and freezing conditions, but we are well prepared and looking forward to demonstrating our readiness to fight, whenever and wherever we get the call.”