First Sea Lord defends spending on aircraft carriers
Britain's naval chief, Adm. Mark Stanhope, has defended the need to buy two aircraft carriers ahead of a defense review. "People that keep turning around and talking about 'the navy's carriers' have missed the point entirely. These carriers are about supporting (troops) ashore, not protecting a fleet."
Britain could sell one of the CVFs to India
One of Britain's new aircraft carriers being build could be sold to India under cost-cutting plans being considered by the Ministry of Defense. The Observer reports that India has lodged a firm expression of interest.
HMS Queen Elizabeth and Prince of Wales will be able to carry F-35s
Britain's defense equipment and support minister Quentin Davies has called reports suggesting that one of CVFs will be downgraded as "complete rubbish". Speaking in the House of Commons, Davies said: "There is no suggestion at all, and there has never been in our minds at all, to re-specify the two aircraft carriers."
Britain have enough money to buy F-35s for one aircraft carrier
Out of the two new aircraft carrier being build in Britain, only one will be equipped with F-35 fighters. This is because the government can only afford to buy enough F-35s for one ship. The other aircraft carrier will be used as an amphibious commando ship with helicopters only.
Britain to dump F-35B as new carriers will have catapults
The Daily Telegraph said Thursday that the British military will opt for catapults for its new aircraft carriers and will switch from the F-35B to the F-35C instead. The newspaper said Britain is reluctant to fund development of the F-35B due to its higher costs and the F-35C offers a better payload and range performance.
Senior defense officials told the newspaper that an announcement is due this autumn.
Work begins on HMS Queen Elizabeth
At the press of a button, Princess Anne launched construction of aircraft carrier HMS Queen Elizabeth at the BVT shipyard in Govan yesterday.
Britain's new aircraft carriers £1bn over budget
The BBC reported that Britain's new aircraft carriers - HMS Queen Elizabeth and HMS Prince of Wales - are facing a £1bn cost over-run. The cost of building the two new aircraft carriers is now expected to rise to about £5bn.
The partners of the consortium building the ships quickly played down reports that the cost over-run will threaten the project.
CVFs delayed due to wars in Iraq and Afghanistan
The head of the Royal Navy, Admiral Sir Jonathon Band, has blamed the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan for the delays facing Britain's new aircraft carriers. His comments appeared to have contradict Defense Secretary, John Hutton, who said delays with the F-35B had slowed the program.
United Kingdom selects Thales S1850M radar for aircraft carriers
Thales Nederland has formalised a contract with BAE Systems for two S1850M Long Range Volume Search Radars to be installed on the new aircraft carriers for the Royal Navy. The S1850M surveillance radar is based on Thales's SMART-L radar and was previously delivered to the Type 45 vessels for the UK Royal Navy and the Horizon class vessels of the French and Italian Navies, in a collaboration between BAE Systems Integrated System Technologies Limited and Thales Nederland. The system is capable of 3D long range automatic detection, track initiation and tracking of air targets. Its performance has been demonstrated in many tests and the system has proven to be capable of detecting stealth targets in high clutter environments.
Lockheed Martin contradicts John Hutton
Last month, British Defense Minister John Hutton said aircraft carrier HMS Queen Elizabeth and her sister ship, HMS Prince of Wales will be delayed two years as the F-35 will not be ready in time. Lockheed Martin, however, confirmed to The Times that it had been ready to provide the combat aircraft by 2014 but had been told by the Ministry of Defense to deliver in time for a 2017 initial operating capability.
1:200 scale model of HMS Queen Elizabeth
This is one scale model all Airfix fans out there would want to get their hands on, pictures of a 1:200 scale model of the HMS Queen Elizabeth class aircraft carrier.
Ex-Defence chief in call to cut carrier by one
A former British chief of the defense staff has called on the military to cut the number of CVFs down to one. Marshal of the RAF Lord Craig of Radley said there is a shortage of pilots to fly aircraft off both carriers.
British carriers delayed for good
British Defense Secretary John Hutton has confirmed that HMS Queen Elizabeth and HMS Prince of Wales are likely to enter service one or two years later than expected. But there will be no changes to the start of their construction.
CVF and Future Lynx program to scale back
Britain's opposition party claims the government will scale back its aircraft carrier program and cut eight helicopters from the Future Lynx project.
Britain delays new aircraft carriers
Faced with fund shortages, the Royal Navy may be forced to delay the in-service date of its next aircraft carrier by one year or delay the second carrier by two years. The idea makes sense as well as the F-35 is not expected to be delivered until 2017. London had earlier stressed that the two ships would be in service by 2014 and 2016.
£235M contracts propel carrier project forward
The British Ministry of Defence has placed £235m of contracts with industry to provide power and propulsion equipment for the new Royal Navy aircraft carriers. The latest contracts will deliver the carriers' gas turbines, generators, motors, power distribution equipment, platform management systems, propellers, shafts, steering gear, rudders and stabilisers.
Britain considers dumping F-35B again
Times reported that Britain may consider pulling out of the F-35 project and studies have started to analyze whether Eurofighters could be adapted to fly off its newest aircraft carriers. The move is part of an increasingly desperate attempt to plug a £1.5 billion shortfall in the defense budget. The RAF's 25 new Airbus A400 transport aircraft could also be at risk.
DCNS Chief Blames UK for Carrier Postponement
DCNS Chairman Jean-Marie Poimboeuf blamed the British for France's decision to delay buying a second aircraft carrier. Poimboeuf said while his company worked hard to find a way to cooperate with British industry over the CVF but the French company had found no such willingness to cooperate on the British side.
Hi-tech weapons handling system for new aircraft carriers
The Royal Navy is to get a hi-tech system to automate and track the movement of large quantities of munitions on board its two new aircraft carriers, thanks to a multi-million pound investment by the Ministry of Defence. The system, which will help crews manage the largest ships in the Royal Navy, is part of a £51m package of important equipment contracts for the future aircraft carriers that will be named HMS Queen Elizabeth and HMS Prince of Wales.
Britain to continue research on rolling vertical landing for F-35
Britain wants to do more research on the shipboard rolling vertical landing (SRVL) technique for the F-35B. This method of landing is preferred as it allows the F-35 to recover with 2,000lb of weapons and fuel, or reduce propulsion system stress and increase engine life.
The new radar will also replace existing systems on Type23 frigates, landing ships HMS Albion and HMS Bulwark and the assault helicopter carrier HMS Ocean.
BAE Systems and VT Group finally agree aircraft carriers link-up
BAE SYSTEMS and VT Group will on Tuesday formally seal a joint venture to build Britain's new aircraft carriers. To be called BVT, it will be 55%-owned by BAE, with the balance in the hands of VT.
VT Group and BAE Systems agree merger to build warships
BAE Systems and VT Group have agreed to merge their businesses and create one single national shipbuilding firm in order to build aircraft carriers for the Royal Navy. The new company will be called BVT Surface Fleet and the merger could see VT Group, formerly Vosper Thorneycroft finally exit shipbuilding in three years’ time after more than a century in the industry.
Aircraft carrier decision in 2011-12-Sarkozy
French President Nicolas Sarkozy said on Tuesday he had until 2011 or 2012 to decide whether to build a second aircraft carrier. French officials have earlier said they will make a decision in the next few months on whether to follow Britain in their aircraft carrier project.
Super carriers get the go ahead
Britain has given the green light for the construction of two new aircraft carriers and the contract will be signed once a new shipbuilding joint venture being set up by BAE Systems and VT Group have been finalized.
Royal Navy may share new carriers with France
The Sunday Times reported that France and Britain will borrow an aircraft carrier from each other if their own was unavailable as a result of a breakdown or refit. A British military spokeswoman confirmed the report on Sunday and the move was theoretically possible, although very unlikely.
U.K. to Commit to 4 Billion-Pound Aircraft Carriers, People Say
An announcement is expected today in London regarding work on two new Queen Elizabeth-class aircraft carriers. The announcement will stop short of awarding a contract but will give sufficient assurance that the project will go ahead.
Defence chiefs have last-minute doubts about £4bn carriers
Gen. Sir Timothy Granville-Chapman, the Vice-Chief of the Defence Staff, has written confidentially to all one-star and two-star officers in the British Ministry of Defence seeking their views on the next-generation aircraft carriers. The last minute rethought was needed among officers from the three services as other weapons procurement such as the Super Lynx helicopter and third trance of the Eurofighter might have to be canceled to fund the carriers.
Aircraft carrier contract weeks away, says VT
VT Group predicts that the British government will award the £4bn Royal Navy contract to build two aircraft carriers within weeks. VT chief executive Paul Lester said: "We have been told by the Government that the aircraft carrier programme is imminent. It is just a matter of weeks before we get the green light."
Cost of new Navy carriers soars to £4.2bn
The cost of building Britain's two new aircraft carriers has soared by £300million to £4.2billion. The government is now expected to try to accelerate agreement of the long-delayed joint venture construction contract to ensure that the escalating price tag does not lead to the project being scrapped.
UK aircraft carriers to get approval next week
Financial Times' weekend edition reported that this week, the British government will give the green light for construction of the Queen Elizabeth-class aircraft carriers. BAE Systems Plc and VT Group Plc will be receiving the contract in mid-june.
Sarkozy to rule on French aircraft carrier in June
French President Nicolas Sarkozy will decide next month whether France will join Britain in building a second French aircraft carrier. "It is a subject on which the president will decide in mid-June," Sarkozy's chief of staff, Claude Gueant, told RTL radio.
Sarkozy had said during his presidential campaign that he would press ahead with the plan to build the aircraft carrier.
French Minister Casts Doubt on New Aircraft Carrier
French Defense Minister Herve Morin told Europe 1 radio and the TV5 Monde television channel that plans to build a second aircraft carrier with Britain is "difficult." Morin said President Nicolas Sarkozy will make a decision soon.
Aircraft lifts ordered for new Navy carriers
MacTaggart Scott of Loanhead, Scotland has been awarded a £13M contract for the manufacture of aircraft lifts for the Royal Navy's two new aircraft carriers. MoD Defence Equipment and Support carrier project team leader Rear Admiral Bob Love said:
"Each of the carriers will have two huge lifts, which can lift 70 tonnes each - or two Joint Strike Fighters - from hangar to flight deck in 60 seconds. They are so powerful that together they could lift the weight of the entire ship's crew (1,450 people). We are working closely with industry participants as we move towards building these ships."
MoD should ditch key arms projects, say MPs
A powerful British parliamentary committe is questioning the need to buy the Queen Elizabeth-class aircraft carriers. "What roles the two future carriers will perform ... and what capabilities these ships will give us that could not be provided in other ways".
Navy's aircraft carriers face delay
Insiders say the British Ministry of Defence will soon award a contract for the Queen Elizabeth class aircraft carrier but construction will be delayed by 12 months. Workers recently hired by shipyards could be lay off is the news is true.
MoD to green light £3.8bn carrier deal
The final green light to start construction of the Queen Elizabeth class aircraft carrier is expected next month.
Rosyth wins £35m aircraft carrier deal
The first £35m contracts paving the way for the start of work on the Royal Navy's two future aircraft carriers was awarded yesterday at Rosyth dockyard in Fife, ending speculation that the £3.8bn ships might be postponed or cancelled.
Babcock hopes for Navy's green light on aircraft carriers
Babcock International Group, the engineering firm that operates the Rosyth and Faslane naval dockyards, said Thursday it hopes to obtain the green light for work on the long-awaited contract for new Royal Navy aircraft carriers in a few months.
Navy's new carriers to deploy old aircraft
Britain's Queen Elizabeth class aircraft carriers will have to carry old Harrier GR9s as the F-35 will not be ready in time. David Gould, the MoD chief operating officer for equipment and support, said: "We actually do plan to use the [Harrier] GR9 on the first of the carriers. The idea that we will have a carrier's worth of fully ... equipped JSFs in 2014 is not going to happen."
Brown says UK to go ahead with aircraft carriers
British Prime Minister Gordon Brown told a member of parliament that his government is in the process of agreeing contracts for the construction of two new aircraft carriers. Recently news reports have said the government could delay or stretch out the contracts for the carriers to save money.
UK says talks on shipbuilding JV at advanced stage
The British Ministry of Defence said in a statement that negotiations between BAE Systems and VT to form a joint venture to build two new aircraft carriers are at an advanced stage. A Ministry of Defence spokeswoman could give no timing for when the contract to build the ships would be signed, however.
Shipbuilding: The new wave
Scottish shipbuilding industry hopes that building the Queen Elizabeth class aircraft carrier can bring them back to its glory years of the 1920s when it was one of the biggest shipbuilding nations in the world.
CVF - Delayed or not delayed?
A report from Reuters is contradicting another one from Financial Times over the status of Britain's new aircraft carriers. Reuters quotes a source close to the deal that the Ministry of Defence is expected to sign the contract shortly after Britain's BAE Systems and VT Group finalize their shipbuilding joint venture. This could come as early as next month.
However Financial Times earlier reported that the signing has been delayed as the MoD struggles to meet Treasury demands for budget cuts.
£28 million equipment orders for new Navy carriers
Contracts totalling £28 million have been placed for the manufacture of diesel generators and other important equipment for two new British aircraft carriers.
Tories question leaked Royal Navy email
A leaked email from a Royal Navy senior officer says that Defense Secretary Des Browne postpone a plan to delay the purchase of two aircraft carriers to save jobs in Gordon Brown's constituency "Yesterday, SoS (Secretary of State) was on the verge of postponing the aircraft carrier order and only balked at doing so at the last minute due to the impact on 400 apprentice jobs in the PM's constituency at Rosyth Dockyard, where assembly work will take place," said the email.
France, Britain press for carrier co-operation
British Prime Minister Gordon Brown said at a news conference with French President Nicolas Sarkozy that both countries will work together to build aircraft carriers. However no dateline has been set on when to complete the complicated technical talks.
Aircraft carrier go-ahead near
British Prime Minister Gordon Brown indicated that his cabinet is close to giving the go-ahead to build new Royal Navy aircraft carriers. Speaking in Parliament Wednesday, the Prime Minister said: "I hope we will be able to make an announcement soon on the aircraft carriers. Our commitment to future naval investment is very high."
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