"I'd be interested to hear exactly which bit of the money "isn't there", given that the ships are essentially paid for."
"The hole in the Ministry of Defence's budget is apparently £1.7bn a year, plus the annual cost of up to £500m a year of the UK's Continuous at Sea Nuclear Deterrent. According to a senior government source, "without the cash this would mean cancelling significant conventional capability to affect our operational footprint and status"."
Regretfully we are faced with an enormous short-fall in resources
What do you suggest cutting going forward so we have enough cash to run the carriers and their associated air wing?