The Royal Navy Could 'Axe' $3,000,000,000 Aircraft Carrier
The UK Treasury has reportedly proposed mothballing one of the Royal Navy's two Queen Elizabeth-class aircraft carriers as part of a strategic defense review. These carriers, the most advanced and expensive warships in British history, cost over £3 billion each.
What You Need to Know: The UK Treasury has reportedly proposed mothballing one of the Royal Navy's two Queen Elizabeth-class aircraft carriers as part of a strategic defense review. These carriers, the most advanced and expensive warships in British history, cost over £3 billion each.
-The Royal Navy is resisting this proposal, emphasizing the operational necessity of maintaining two carriers to ensure redundancy and global capability. Challenges, including a lack of sufficient escort ships and a staffing crisis, already complicate operations.
-With geopolitical rivals like China expanding their naval power, shelving a carrier could undermine the UK's strategic position.
UK Considering Mothballing Aircraft Carriers Again
The UK's Queen Elizabeth-class aircraft carriers are the most advanced warships the Royal Navy has ever operated. HMS Queen Elizabeth and HMS Prince of Wales are also the largest vessels ever built for the senior service, surpassing even HMS Vanguard (23), the final battleship ever produced.
Yet, the two carriers are also the most expensive military platforms operated by the island nation and key U.S. ally.
The UK's The Times newspaper is reporting that His Majesty's Treasury has proposed a cost-cutting plan that would mothball at least one of the carriers.
"It is understood that a discussion between the Ministry of Defence and Rachel Reeves’s department explored what equipment could be cut as part of the forthcoming strategic defence review," the British paper of record reported – and cited a Royal Navy source as stating that it wasn't surprising that the carriers were on the chopping block.
Not Having It
In very British terms, the Royal Navy "isn't having it" and is entirely unwilling to accept any decision that would see its fleet reduced to having just a single aircraft carrier.
"We are not looking to down to one," the source told The Times, adding, "It would be quite a big step down for us to go down to one carrier."
The fact that twice now the Royal Navy has had to scramble – first when HMS Prince of Wales was sidelined in late 2022 due to a propeller issue and then again earlier this year when HMS Queen Elizabeth faced a similar problem.
In For a Penny, In for £3 Billion
The UK's Royal family has existed for centuries with the mantra "an heir and a spare" and the same holds true for the carriers, which cost in excess of £3 billion each!
Sidelining the carriers won't return the billions already spent, but another issue is that the Royal Navy largely lacks the escorts to make up a carrier strike group (CSG), which is why NATO warships accompanied HMS Queen Elizabeth during her 2021 deployment to the Indo-Pacific and back.
As The Telegraph also reported, HMS Prince of Wales was forced to rely on foreign support during her most recent deployment – and the paper cited the Royal Navy's "staffing crisis," resulting in the solid stores support ship being unable to resupply the carrier.
An army travels on its stomach, but more carriers have large crews that also need to be fed while aviation fuel and ordnance need to be delivered to the vessels at sea.
The Royal Navy once famously proclaimed that it ruled the waves, but that fact is no longer true – as China and India each now operate two carriers, with the former now conducting sea trials of its third carrier. For those reasons, it would be hard to see how London, even with its Labour government occupying Downing Street, would consider putting one of the carriers on the shelf.
Author Experience and Expertise: Peter Suciu
Peter Suciu is a Michigan-based writer. He has contributed to more than four dozen magazines, newspapers, and websites with over 3,200 published pieces over a twenty-year career in journalism. He regularly writes about military hardware, firearms history, cybersecurity, politics, and international affairs. Peter is also a Contributing Writer for Forbes and Clearance Jobs. You can follow him on Twitter: @PeterSuciu. You can email the author: [email protected].
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