UK's aircraft carrier policy set for review

LONDON - The British government is carrying out a review of its policy on the equipment of its two planned aircraft carriers, reports said Monday.

Prime Minister David Cameron's coalition government opted in its Strategic Defence and Security Review (SDSR) in October 2010 to continue building two 65,000-ton aircraft carriers, but changed the aircraft it wanted to fly from them in order to save money.

Now the government is considering changing the types of planes to fly from the carriers back to its earlier choice, also in a bid to save money.

A spokesman for the Ministry of Defense (MOD) told Xinhua on Monday, "The MOD is currently finalizing the 2012-13 budget and balancing the Equipment Plan. This means reviewing all programs, including elements of the carrier strike program, to validate costs and ensure risks are properly managed. The defense secretary expects to announce the outcome of this process to Parliament before Easter (April 1)."

The aeroplanes originally chosen for the two carriers of the Queen Elizabeth class were the American-built Joint Strike Fighter F35B, specialist planes capable of short takeoff and vertical landing (STOVL).

These STOVL planes would not be able to operate from conventional aircraft carriers, such as those used by Britain's two closest allies the United States and France.

The SDSR ditched plans for these planes, because conventional carrier planes, using the catapult assisted takeoff and barrier arrested recovery (CATOBAR) system, were cheaper and offered compatibility with allies' carriers.

The choice fell on the Joint Strike Fighter variant F35C.

The SDSR stated, "The last government committed to carriers that would have been unable to work properly with our closest military allies. It will take time to rectify this error but we are determined to do so. We will fit a catapult to the operational carrier to enable it to fly a version of the JSF with a longer range and able to carry more weapons. Crucially, that will allow our carrier to operate in tandem with the US and French navies."

However, the change in choice for the planes came after construction had begun on both carriers, and meant that the plans for at least one of the carriers would have to be changed.

Now, fears of rising costs on the F35C program, and the costs and time needed to change the carrier plans mean that the decision to choose a catapult and trap landing system (cats and traps) is under review, and with it a possible return to the original F35B plane.

The spokesman added, "The intention to move to a 'cats and traps' based carrier strike capability, which was announced in the SDSR, was always subject to a detailed piece of work to assess the costs and risks involved in converting a Queen Elizabeth Class carrier. That work is ongoing."

The original high costs of the carriers and planes had meant that the first of the carriers to be built would be put into extended readiness, in effect moth-balled, as soon as it was launched. However, if returning to the STOVL F35B proves cheaper, then it could mean that both aircraft carriers would become operational.

The Daily Telegraph newspaper reported a government source as saying, "There will be short-term pain for the government, but in the long run, it is by far the best option. Adapting the carriers is skewing the defense budget out of shape, and there is every likelihood the costs will continue to rise. It has to be Cameron's decision, but the military advice is clear."

A decision is likely to be made at next Monday's National Security Council meeting, according to the Daily Telegraph.

Britain's aircraft carriers have often been controversial. The fleet of three medium-sized carriers of the Invincible class was scrapped in the SDSR in 2010, with only one of the carriers retained as a helicopter carrier.

This, and the decision to scrap the fixed-wing aircraft that were flying from them, was criticized at the time by many experts because it left a gap of 10 years before one of the Queen Elizabeth class ships came into service with its aircraft in 2020.

A 1960s program to build large conventional carriers, like the Queen Elizabeth class, was scrapped in a bid to cut military spending and in light of Britain's shrinking empire at the time and its declining global role.