HMS Invincible will be retired in 2010, Ark Royal in 2014, and Illustrious in 2016 – HMS Queen Elizabeth will enter service at the end of 2015, with the Prince of Wales to follow in 2018.
At least that’s the current timetable according to Quentin Davies, the British minister for defense equipment and support
The Queen Elizabeth will turn up just in time to keep the UK’s carrier strike capability afloat – and will initially operate the Harrier GR9 until the F-35 enters service.
Davies maintains: The Government remains fully committed to the manufacture of two Queen Elizabeth Class Aircraft Carriers. The carriers are a core component of the overall Carrier Strike Program and a cornerstone of future defense policy.”
There remains of course the issue of a general election, with the Strategic Defense Review to follow, along with the more mundane challenges of adhering to a carrier schedule that already has been delayed on several occasions.
Invincible was launched in 1977, commissioned in 1980 - it's just not economical anymore to keep it afloat for much longer. The hull has been battered and bruised by wear and tear and already had a few modernizations and structural upgrades.
Besides further updating the weapon systems, it will require a massive rebuild of the hull, hangar- and flightdeck, engines and electrical systems. Spares are hard to come by and the supporting shipbuilding industry has also virtually disappeared.
Ghemago if you meant to any of the vessels, the OSD dates are actually flexible if there are are hiccups that result in the ISDs for the Queen Elizabeth Class being pushed forward. I'd assume that HMS Invincible's 2010 OSD will remain as it is whatever happens especially given that she is already held in reserve or "low level of readiness" as the Navy calls it, and the state that she is in, that has included being stripped for spares.
Baroness Taylor additionally confirmed yesterday the contract terms for the aircraft carriers - cancellation of any of the vessels will result in financial penalties, but Taylor said that the contract could be re-negotiated with the Aircraft Carrier Alliance to include design changes or cancellation, obviously at "significant" cost in the case of the latter. How much, we don't know. About £852 million of £1.1 billion in contracts has already been spent.
Yes I meant the Invincible class, not the single ship, and yes I was worried about 1-2 year delays. I'm also puzzled by the years 14-16 vs 15-18. Why not wait for replacements? That would also help if they go for the F-35C that I see as logical.
Maybe it has to do with manpower requirements, but moreso budgetary reasons for the gaps between the OSDs and ISDs. The OSDs of the Invincible Class haven't really changed since the QE Class programme was officially announced in 1999. All that has changed is that the ISD for the two new vessels have been pushed forward by a year or so to spread the cost during the peak years of building. Originally, HMS QE would have entered service in 2014 and PoW in 2016, directly in line with the OSDs of Ark Royal and Illustrious. Maybe it was felt that withdrawing the Illustrious Class as planned would also save some money (that would include costs for extension) as well as providing ample time for the recruitment and training of new crews for the QE Class.
As for the F-35C, if they decided to go for that instead, it wouldn't really affect the ISDs of either OE Class given that a full air wing's-worth of F-35s won't be available until a year or so after the OSD of the Harrier.
Besides further updating the weapon systems, it will require a massive rebuild of the hull, hangar- and flightdeck, engines and electrical systems. Spares are hard to come by and the supporting shipbuilding industry has also virtually disappeared.
Baroness Taylor additionally confirmed yesterday the contract terms for the aircraft carriers - cancellation of any of the vessels will result in financial penalties, but Taylor said that the contract could be re-negotiated with the Aircraft Carrier Alliance to include design changes or cancellation, obviously at "significant" cost in the case of the latter. How much, we don't know. About £852 million of £1.1 billion in contracts has already been spent.
I'm also puzzled by the years 14-16 vs 15-18. Why not wait for replacements? That would also help if they go for the F-35C that I see as logical.
As for the F-35C, if they decided to go for that instead, it wouldn't really affect the ISDs of either OE Class given that a full air wing's-worth of F-35s won't be available until a year or so after the OSD of the Harrier.