Posted on 05/20/2016 10:50:25 AM PDT by sukhoi-30mki
Longer than the Houses of Parliament and able to launch up to 108 air strike sorties per day, Britain’s new aircraft carriers will make potential enemies “think twice” about starting future wars, their senior naval officer has said.
The new Queen Elizabeth Class carriers will be become Britain’s most potent conventional weapon and change the way the Royal Navy does business, Capt Simon Petitt said.
The two vast 67,000 tonne vessels, which have cost £6.2bn for the pair, are the largest warships ever built in Britain.
The first of the ships to be ready, HMS Queen Elizabeth, is due to start sea trials next year and is expected to be ready for its first deployment in 2021. Its sister ship, the Prince of Wales, is being built alongside at Rosyth on the Firth of Forth and is expected to be ready around 18 months later.
The vast ships, which are being built by an army of 10,000 workers, have a four acre flight deck and are taller than the Niagara Falls.
Each vessel will have more than 3,000 compartments and as well as a crew of nearly 700, will also be able to accommodate another 900 air crew and Marines.
Capt Petitt, senior naval officer for the two vessels, said they would become the UK’s “most potent strategic weapon bar the continuous at sea deterrent.”
“It is about stopping wars rather than starting them. If someone does want to start a war I think they might think twice if they see one of these ships coming over the horizon.
(Excerpt) Read more at telegraph.co.uk ...
How soon a Muslim captain?
Having served on board 3 carriers you need to update folds
I would say that as of now, the new Muzzie mayor of London, is the odds-on favorite to be the next British PM, I’m not kidding.
Optimism on this thread, I find none.
In the case of FReepers the opposite of optimism is not cynicism, but rather realism.
We live with facts. I like how we are free to call it like it is.
I agree. Despite the fact that the sun is shining, it is raining.
That’s a cute little boat.
Rule Britania! Dump PC Crapola and return to Christian Values. Force out the Mulims or force them to convert.
People have been claiming that the age of the aircraft carrier has been coming to an end since a little after the atomic bomb ended WWII.
Vohst, yes, but are they enigmatic?
Is someone threatening to start a war with the UK? The only enemy I can see is moslems flooding in. I see no nation state that is going to attack them.
The internal moslems are about to inherit the whole country.
Ergo, the world is safer with no Brit carrier.
Avast the vast carriers!
I was thinking more along the line of nuke and AIP propelled subs.
Hopefully, the UK has enough ships to screen those carriers.
Islamic Terrorist #1:
“Hey let’s go after Britain!”
Islamic Terrorist #2:
“Hold on my friend, you had better think about that again, they have giant war ships!”
Islamic Terrorist #1:
“Who cares?, we’re already in”
Islamic Terrorist #2:
“That’s right!
Akbar!”
Islamic Terrorist #1:
“LALALALALALALALALALALALA Akbar!”
Ping
“I think these things are sitting ducks for the newer (and even the last) generation of anti-ship missiles.”
I have concerns for our own carriers in that regard as well. Not only the latest missles, but also overwhelming the defenses just with sheer numbers simultaneously.
It’s the will that scares people not the armaments.
The jihadists are winning in Europe and here in America not because they have better weapons but because they have infinitely greater will to win than our wussified, feminized, wimps WE elected as “leaders”.
I would assume that targeting information for something like the Moskva is going to come from satellites and the only question would be whether or not a carrier was within range of her missiles.
The “ski-jump” feature helps their VTOL aircraft get airborne. Apparently it takes less thrust to take off horizontally than vertically, so they can carry more fuel and weapons. With bomb bays empty and fuel tanks nearly dry, they may land vertically.
These re indeed going to be large, capable carriers...having said that, the UK messed up royally when they chose to not use catapults or arresting gear and use a ski-jump instead.
So, no E-2D Hawkeye AEW aircraft (very critical) and no larger war loads on take-off for various types of aircraft.
They will end up with the F-35B, which for sure is going to be a far greater assert than what they had in the Harrier force before, and with their stealth and ability to be refueled will give them decent range.
But, in an effort to save a little money (relatively speaking) they are building large 67,000 ton aircraft carriers that have been needlessly hobbled in terms of their own situational awareness, self-protection, and strike capabilities.
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