Future Carrier (Including Costs)
Does this sound about right?
Bunks for 1600....in 423 cabins, galley able to produce 963 meals in an hour. Room for a total of 70 aircraft but with only six deck spots, no cat and no arresting gear.
If you have a crew of 800 why all the spare bunks?
Watch Bills must get interesting at Sea....with only 800 crew.....and still afford time off to rest, eat, sleep and watch movies in the onboard Cinema.
Bunks for 1600....in 423 cabins, galley able to produce 963 meals in an hour. Room for a total of 70 aircraft but with only six deck spots, no cat and no arresting gear.
If you have a crew of 800 why all the spare bunks?
Watch Bills must get interesting at Sea....with only 800 crew.....and still afford time off to rest, eat, sleep and watch movies in the onboard Cinema.
Only six deck spots? Maybe for simultaneous landings but otherwise...
No nuclear watch-keepers/maintainers or specialist cat & trap operators required and RN personnel tend to multi-task much more than USN personnel (e.g. we have no specialised ice cream vendors
).Each QEC carrier costs less than a third the initial price of the Gerald R Ford and that's before you start taking into account through-life costs (particularly manpower) and reactor maintenance and decommissioning.
This mornings Daily ExpressHow US could use UK ships to bolster its fleet as defence concerns grow
THE ROYAL NAVY boasts some of the most advanced ships and destroyers in the world. But with recent cuts to military budgets coinciding with the US' huge naval standoff in regions such as the South China Sea, Britain's forces are reportedly planning to lease an aircraft carrier to Washington.
By CHARLIE BRADLEY PUBLISHED: 00:01, Tue, Feb 4, 2020 | UPDATED: 00:10, Tue, Feb 4, 2020 OSE
According to reports in recent months, the British Army is said to be pushing for one of the Royal Navy’s brand new super carriers to be leased out to the US in a bid to garner extra cash for military funding. A Sunday Times’ report revealed that decision makers in the UK’s military brass could flog either HMS Prince of Wales or HMS Queen Elizabeth. The US, which is currently embroiled in a huge naval standoff in the South China Sea, could take on one of the ships in yet another expansion of its fleet.
This comes despite the Government’s promises to maintain the size of the armed forces.
An unnamed source told the Sunday Times in November: “The army hates aircraft carriers, which they have always seen as a white elephant, but the Americans love them. They are cutting edge because they can operate with far fewer crew than US carriers.”
The reports have been denied by the UK’s Defence Secretary, Ben Wallace MP, who said: “This is total rubbish. There are no plans to shrink the armed forces. “There are however plans to increase army recruiting levels.”
HMS Queen Elizabeth visited the US last year, with Tony Radakin, the First Sea Lord and UK Chief of Naval Staff, claiming that the two allies’ naval forces could be closely integrated. He said: “As she has demonstrated already, we can successfully field a combined US, UK carrier strike group. I look forward to this developing further.”
Cuts to the Defence budget in recent years have heaped more pressure on British forces, with many expressing a dire need for increased spending to avoid security deficiencies. In 2018 there was a £20billion shortfall in the UK’s £179billion equipment budget, and figures last August showed that the British forces were 7,000 soldiers short of its 82,000 target. In November, Prime Minister Boris Johnson was forced to deny claims that the British forces would cut its personnel to between 60,000-65,000, the smallest number for centuries.
Mr Johnson said while launching his 2019 manifesto: “We will not be cutting our armed forces in any form. We will be maintaining the size of our armed services.” For the last nine years, the British military has decreased in size with personnel decreasing in the Army, the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force (RAF).
THE ROYAL NAVY boasts some of the most advanced ships and destroyers in the world. But with recent cuts to military budgets coinciding with the US' huge naval standoff in regions such as the South China Sea, Britain's forces are reportedly planning to lease an aircraft carrier to Washington.
By CHARLIE BRADLEY PUBLISHED: 00:01, Tue, Feb 4, 2020 | UPDATED: 00:10, Tue, Feb 4, 2020 OSE
According to reports in recent months, the British Army is said to be pushing for one of the Royal Navy’s brand new super carriers to be leased out to the US in a bid to garner extra cash for military funding. A Sunday Times’ report revealed that decision makers in the UK’s military brass could flog either HMS Prince of Wales or HMS Queen Elizabeth. The US, which is currently embroiled in a huge naval standoff in the South China Sea, could take on one of the ships in yet another expansion of its fleet.
This comes despite the Government’s promises to maintain the size of the armed forces.
An unnamed source told the Sunday Times in November: “The army hates aircraft carriers, which they have always seen as a white elephant, but the Americans love them. They are cutting edge because they can operate with far fewer crew than US carriers.”
The reports have been denied by the UK’s Defence Secretary, Ben Wallace MP, who said: “This is total rubbish. There are no plans to shrink the armed forces. “There are however plans to increase army recruiting levels.”
HMS Queen Elizabeth visited the US last year, with Tony Radakin, the First Sea Lord and UK Chief of Naval Staff, claiming that the two allies’ naval forces could be closely integrated. He said: “As she has demonstrated already, we can successfully field a combined US, UK carrier strike group. I look forward to this developing further.”
Cuts to the Defence budget in recent years have heaped more pressure on British forces, with many expressing a dire need for increased spending to avoid security deficiencies. In 2018 there was a £20billion shortfall in the UK’s £179billion equipment budget, and figures last August showed that the British forces were 7,000 soldiers short of its 82,000 target. In November, Prime Minister Boris Johnson was forced to deny claims that the British forces would cut its personnel to between 60,000-65,000, the smallest number for centuries.
Mr Johnson said while launching his 2019 manifesto: “We will not be cutting our armed forces in any form. We will be maintaining the size of our armed services.” For the last nine years, the British military has decreased in size with personnel decreasing in the Army, the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force (RAF).
While HMS Queen Elizabeth is conducting trials with UK F-35Bs and helos in the North Sea and beyond, her sister ship HMS Prince of Wales will be open to the public during a week-long visit to Liverpool starting at the end of the month. (A CVN wouldn't be able to do that.)
Any pics of the Sister?
For FOD....so glad to see entertaining Public is an essential part of the Mission Set of the latest RN Carrier.
I am sure that trumps being deployed on lesser important missions.
After arriving safely in Liverpool....will it be able to leave under its own power or shall it require on-site repairs to replace everything that gets nicked?
For FOD....so glad to see entertaining Public is an essential part of the Mission Set of the latest RN Carrier.
I am sure that trumps being deployed on lesser important missions.
After arriving safely in Liverpool....will it be able to leave under its own power or shall it require on-site repairs to replace everything that gets nicked?
Any pics of the Sister?
For FOD....so glad to see entertaining Public is an essential part of the Mission Set of the latest RN Carrier.
I am sure that trumps being deployed on lesser important missions.
After arriving safely in Liverpool....will it be able to leave under its own power or shall it require on-site repairs to replace everything that gets nicked?
For FOD....so glad to see entertaining Public is an essential part of the Mission Set of the latest RN Carrier.
I am sure that trumps being deployed on lesser important missions.
After arriving safely in Liverpool....will it be able to leave under its own power or shall it require on-site repairs to replace everything that gets nicked?
"....so glad to see entertaining Public is an essential part of the Mission Set of the latest RN Carrier."
Considering they paid for it I think it's only fair they get a look round...................
Considering they paid for it I think it's only fair they get a look round...................
Both gone to the bottom of Davy Jones' locker! Oooops!
PS The JCB driver did blooming well to eject from said JCB just prior to it exiting stage right! Thank goodness........
LOL! No idea how many chains ORAC - I believe we still had all that + associated depth markings on it - on board, just the bit on the end with pointy dodahs was missing IIR! But I bet the demise of it and the JCB was picked up by SOSUS. And confused the hell out of the poor passive Sonar op on the local Soviet sub which was probably snooping about! Maybe even direct hits?! 
No names....but while standing on the bridge of a US Warship in the Roads of a large oriental seaport.....I watched the Captain very carefully Conn the Ship to his designated anchoring spot....throw a few bits of wood over the side to check the Way had come to zero.....gives order to Let Go....the sledge smacked the Keeper...and away it went....along with every bit of chain attached thereto...it seemed like miles of chain as the almighty clatter went on and on and on.
When silence reined and the Bosun's rather agitated tones wafted back over the Bridge Wing.....The Captain looked over at the XO and was heard to quietly say...."Well....that went well!".
The XO, with a rather serious look on his countenance replied....."Yes Sir! I am thinking that getting it back onto the Ship is going to be a bit more difficult!".
Fortunately there was a Salvage Tug in Theater that responded and recovered the lost gear before we departed for our next Port Call. The extended Port Call was well received by all Hands.
I always wondered if that was a pure accident or not.
When silence reined and the Bosun's rather agitated tones wafted back over the Bridge Wing.....The Captain looked over at the XO and was heard to quietly say...."Well....that went well!".
The XO, with a rather serious look on his countenance replied....."Yes Sir! I am thinking that getting it back onto the Ship is going to be a bit more difficult!".
Fortunately there was a Salvage Tug in Theater that responded and recovered the lost gear before we departed for our next Port Call. The extended Port Call was well received by all Hands.
I always wondered if that was a pure accident or not.
For all the fan boys (and girls) of the Queen Elizabeth Class carriers - a lot cheaper than the real thing !
https://www.rnrmc.org.uk/products/bu...t-carrier?v=47
https://www.rnrmc.org.uk/products/bu...t-carrier?v=47
On Flight Global - a useful addition to carrier defence...
Weapon wing integration keeps Wildcat on target for carrier protection role
Weapon wing integration keeps Wildcat on target for carrier protection role
Thread Starter
On Thursday HMS Queen Elizabeth returned to Portsmouth after ten weeks at sea - as reported on the RN website:
In view of the size and complexity of the carrier, she received a dedicated training package, initially off the south coast, to test the ability of all 1,100 men and women on board to deal with everything they might expect to face in peace and war.
The training package reached its climax with 18 fictional fire and flood incidents raging simultaneously – with the ship expected to continue flying operations while damage control teams toiled in the carrier’s depths.
“Given the sheer size of the ship, Operational Sea Training has been a learning curve for all involved,” said Lieutenant Commander Si Bailey, one of the 46-strong team of assessors on board.
“It’s been a challenging time for HMS Queen Elizabeth, but the ship’s company and embarked personnel have been receptive to the training and advice – and have done so with a smile.”
Having passed that assessment, the carrier shifted to the North Sea to welcome F-35 Lightnings from 617 Squadron, better known as The Dambusters.
It’s the first time operational UK F-35s have worked with Queen Elizabeth and they faced a punishing schedule once aboard, completing a record number of landings on the flight deck.
The future of Carrier Strike is a truly joint effort and the Royal Navy has worked closely with the RAF throughout the development of the carrier.
617 squadron – based at RAF Marham and comprising both Royal Air Force and Royal Navy personnel – progressed from qualifying pilots in the art of landing on and taking off from a moving warship by day and night all the way up to the first ‘four-ship package’: launching four F-35s on a combat sortie in rapid succession.
The fighters shared the flight deck with submarine hunting Merlin helicopters of 820 Naval Air Squadron from RNAS Culdrose. In all the fast jets and helicopters touch down on Queen Elizabeth 830 times in all weathers, at all times of day.
The collective training ended with a five-day test of the ship to defend against threats in the air, on the sea and beneath the waves, herself using F-35s, Merlins and frigate HMS Kent.
It will be nice to see an exercise in which the carrier is the to defend and support other high value units such as amphibious ships or crisis response shipping. Maybe later this year?
On the subject of frigates, helicopters, and ASW, the RN and RAF are involved in Exercise Dynamic Mongoose.
In view of the size and complexity of the carrier, she received a dedicated training package, initially off the south coast, to test the ability of all 1,100 men and women on board to deal with everything they might expect to face in peace and war.
The training package reached its climax with 18 fictional fire and flood incidents raging simultaneously – with the ship expected to continue flying operations while damage control teams toiled in the carrier’s depths.
“Given the sheer size of the ship, Operational Sea Training has been a learning curve for all involved,” said Lieutenant Commander Si Bailey, one of the 46-strong team of assessors on board.
“It’s been a challenging time for HMS Queen Elizabeth, but the ship’s company and embarked personnel have been receptive to the training and advice – and have done so with a smile.”
Having passed that assessment, the carrier shifted to the North Sea to welcome F-35 Lightnings from 617 Squadron, better known as The Dambusters.
It’s the first time operational UK F-35s have worked with Queen Elizabeth and they faced a punishing schedule once aboard, completing a record number of landings on the flight deck.
The future of Carrier Strike is a truly joint effort and the Royal Navy has worked closely with the RAF throughout the development of the carrier.
617 squadron – based at RAF Marham and comprising both Royal Air Force and Royal Navy personnel – progressed from qualifying pilots in the art of landing on and taking off from a moving warship by day and night all the way up to the first ‘four-ship package’: launching four F-35s on a combat sortie in rapid succession.
The fighters shared the flight deck with submarine hunting Merlin helicopters of 820 Naval Air Squadron from RNAS Culdrose. In all the fast jets and helicopters touch down on Queen Elizabeth 830 times in all weathers, at all times of day.
The collective training ended with a five-day test of the ship to defend against threats in the air, on the sea and beneath the waves, herself using F-35s, Merlins and frigate HMS Kent.
It will be nice to see an exercise in which the carrier is the to defend and support other high value units such as amphibious ships or crisis response shipping. Maybe later this year?
On the subject of frigates, helicopters, and ASW, the RN and RAF are involved in Exercise Dynamic Mongoose.