The Ministry of Defence is signing contracts for two new giant aircraft carriers, amid criticism from some defence experts that the expense of the vessels will seriously affect Britain’s defence capability for years to come.
HMS Queen Elizabeth and Prince of Wales – at 280m, the length of three football pitches - are budgeted at £4bn, and already cuts have had to be made in other areas to offset their cost. The Navy has slashed its Type 45 destroyer procurement plans from eight ships to six, leading strategists to question whether enough vessels will remain to escort the carriers when they enter service. There are also question marks over the F-35 joint strike fighters for which the carriers have been designed - including doubts on their suitability for carrier operations, expressed last year in a US Navy briefing document, which highlighted the limited range and payload of the vertically-landing F-35B.
MoD officials denied rumours that any cost overruns might lead to the disbandment of the Army and RAF.
“What, a defence project go over budget?” laughed Sgt. Oddball, a procurement spokesman. “That can’t possibly happen, man. We’ve got positive vibes about these babies."
Critics, however, point out that the last HMS Queen Elizabeth was ignominiously crippled in Alexandra harbour by a couple of Italian frogmen, while the previous Prince of Wales was swiftly sunk by torpedo bombers while on a fool’s errand to single-handedly save the British Empire from the Japanese.
“They’re great names for a couple of pubs, I’m sure, “said a retired Jimmy the One. “But perhaps not the most auspicious names in the annals of naval warfare.”
Defence chiefs are believed to have drawn up plans to offset the cost of the project, including renting them out for weddings, parties and warehouse raves, and making one carrier the permanent home of Portsmouth Football Club.
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