The UK's newest aircraft carrier has fewer sailors and fighter jets than US supercarriers. It's built to operate 'lean.'

A sailor on the flight deck of the HMS Prince of Wales. Jake Epstein/Business Insider

ABOARD THE HMS PRINCE OF WALES — An F-35 stealth fighter roars down the flight deck of Britain's newest aircraft carrier, hurtling toward a ski-jump ramp above the Norwegian Sea.

Seconds later, the jet is airborne, climbing into the sky. Silence returns to the flight deck of the HMS Prince of Wales , the Royal Navy's flagship.

The Prince of Wales can carry up to 36 F-35 fighter jets , but only a handful were aboard when Business Insider visited the warship while it was operating off the coast of Norway this week.

"We have a relatively modest, yet highly efficient, air wing with the aircraft that we have," Capt.…