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Aircraft carrier costs could rise to £7bn
HMS Queen Elizabeth and HMS Prince of Wales were officially estimated to cost £4bn when announced in 2007
The cost of building two aircraft carriers for the Royal Navy has soared again and could reach £7bn.
The latest increases follow a series of costly delays and are largely the result of a decision in last year's defence review to equip HMS Prince of Wales with aircraft catapults and traps.
It is the second of the carriers due to enter into service by 2020.
The first carrier, HMS Queen Elizabeth, will be mothballed when it is completed, leaving Britain without a carrier able to take aircraft for 10 years.
The carriers were officially estimated to cost less than £4bn when they were announced in 2007. The estimate rose to £5bn last year after the Ministry of Defence decided to delay the construction programme to defer costs. Short-term savings led to cost increases in the longer term.
"Cats and traps" will enable the Prince of Wales to be equipped with the naval version of the US Joint Strike Fighter, cheaper than the short take-off and vertical landing version the MoD initially decided to buy. It will also mean that British and French planes can land on each other's carriers, a feature outlined in the British-French defence co-operation agreement signed last year.
The new estimate that the carriers could cost £6bn and possibly £7bn is believed to have been suggested by the makers, the Aircraft Carrier Alliance consisting of BAE Systems, Thales and Babcock.
The shadow defence secretary, Jim Murphy, said: "This is yet more evidence that the government's rushed defence review was not thoroughly thought through or costed. Ministers must now be clear with the British public about the real costs of their decisions. This could be a £2bn bungle. The government has totally mishandled the UK's carrier capability and now needs to be clear about whether both carriers will be completed and capable of deployment. The SDSR [Strategic Defence and Security Review] is unravelling and ministers must give the country confidence that they have a grip of the budget and equipment programme."
The MoD said: "The conversion of the Queen Elizabeth class will allow us to operate the carrier variant of the Joint Strike Fighter that carries a greater payload, has a longer range and is cheaper to purchase. Final costs are yet to be agreed and detailed work is ongoing. We expect to take firm decisions in late 2012."
A Downing Street spokeswoman said: "The SDSR is an ongoing process and there will be decisions to be taken in this spending review and further down the track."
Critics argue that the Ark Royal carrier and the Harrier jump jets, scrapped last year, would have given Britain much cheaper options over Libya than the Tornados the RAF is relying on for air strikes. The government argues that the Tornados can carry more modern missiles and have a greater range.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2011/apr/28/aircraft-carriers-navy-cost-rises
HMS Queen Elizabeth and HMS Prince of Wales were officially estimated to cost £4bn when announced in 2007
The cost of building two aircraft carriers for the Royal Navy has soared again and could reach £7bn.
The latest increases follow a series of costly delays and are largely the result of a decision in last year's defence review to equip HMS Prince of Wales with aircraft catapults and traps.
It is the second of the carriers due to enter into service by 2020.
The first carrier, HMS Queen Elizabeth, will be mothballed when it is completed, leaving Britain without a carrier able to take aircraft for 10 years.
The carriers were officially estimated to cost less than £4bn when they were announced in 2007. The estimate rose to £5bn last year after the Ministry of Defence decided to delay the construction programme to defer costs. Short-term savings led to cost increases in the longer term.
"Cats and traps" will enable the Prince of Wales to be equipped with the naval version of the US Joint Strike Fighter, cheaper than the short take-off and vertical landing version the MoD initially decided to buy. It will also mean that British and French planes can land on each other's carriers, a feature outlined in the British-French defence co-operation agreement signed last year.
The new estimate that the carriers could cost £6bn and possibly £7bn is believed to have been suggested by the makers, the Aircraft Carrier Alliance consisting of BAE Systems, Thales and Babcock.
The shadow defence secretary, Jim Murphy, said: "This is yet more evidence that the government's rushed defence review was not thoroughly thought through or costed. Ministers must now be clear with the British public about the real costs of their decisions. This could be a £2bn bungle. The government has totally mishandled the UK's carrier capability and now needs to be clear about whether both carriers will be completed and capable of deployment. The SDSR [Strategic Defence and Security Review] is unravelling and ministers must give the country confidence that they have a grip of the budget and equipment programme."
The MoD said: "The conversion of the Queen Elizabeth class will allow us to operate the carrier variant of the Joint Strike Fighter that carries a greater payload, has a longer range and is cheaper to purchase. Final costs are yet to be agreed and detailed work is ongoing. We expect to take firm decisions in late 2012."
A Downing Street spokeswoman said: "The SDSR is an ongoing process and there will be decisions to be taken in this spending review and further down the track."
Critics argue that the Ark Royal carrier and the Harrier jump jets, scrapped last year, would have given Britain much cheaper options over Libya than the Tornados the RAF is relying on for air strikes. The government argues that the Tornados can carry more modern missiles and have a greater range.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2011/apr/28/aircraft-carriers-navy-cost-rises
