Originally Posted by
FODPlod
The main expense of the QEC will be its through-life costs, mainly comprising manpower. The crew of 700 is comparable to that of the cramped bodge job that was the Illustrious class CVS. Half a dozen Illustrious replacements would still require similarly expensive minimum manpower, C4I, weapons & sensor systems, propulsion, electrical power generation, automation, hotel services, etc., as a QEC. How can you possibly equate the cost of one QEC with six (or even three) of the other?
Surely if you went the route of new build Lusty class ships you would use the current technology available and used in the Queen to upgrade the new builds and thus reduce the manning requirements down to a more managable and cost effective number.. you wouldn't build it to the original spec.
I often wonder what something like a new build Buccaneer would be like with new engines, weapon systems and modern cockpit and avionics fit, but that's digressing from the thread.