I am currently interested in joining the Royal Navy and I have worked for BAE Systems on the carrier project for my summer placement. I've naturally wanted to learn more so I will copy in anything I deem important to read in this blog.
I will try my best here to keep up to date with all the events in the building of the Queen Elizabeth Class Carriers.
Events can be read from the archive on the right, by selecting the month it happened.
If I have missed anything please leave a comment, and I will add it in ASAP!
Some months are missing as I didn't find any news or forgot to add, so please don't hesitate to leave a comment - I will do my best to fill in more detail if wanted.
Quick overview
The MOD opened up a need for a new carrier, with a request for bidders to design a STOVL and CTOL variant carrier. It was decided in September 2002 that the carrier would be designed for STOVL, with the possibility of CTOL if needed at a later date. This means that a 'ski-ramp' would be designed on the carrier, with the ability to install catapults and arrestor wires if needed.
Originally the plan was for the Queen Elizabeth Class (or QE) to have the following design:
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| Ski Ramp and a squadron of F-35B's on deck. Early concept from Thales ~ Sept 2002 |
This included a Ski Ramp which would host around 36 F-35B's. This was a political decision that went against what industry suggested; the Government wanted to show support for the Harrier force and a ski-ramp showed commitment to these aging jets.
Although the original design was from Thales, the MOD decided than an alliance should be formed between Thales and BAE Systems to build the order. The Aircraft Carrier Alliance was formed, with the 3 main clients being Thales, BAE Systems and the MOD itself.
The plan at this time looked something like this:
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| The Plan pre-SDSR |
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