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London October 28, 2014 - Defence Secretary Michael Fallon has announced that the Ministry of Defence (MOD) has reached an agreement in principle on an order for the first production batch of four Lightning II stealth combat aircraft.
The aircraft will operate from both the Royal Navy’s new aircraft carriers and RAF land bases.
It is expected that a formal contract for the F-35B aircraft will be in place within weeks. The contract will form part of the MOD’s investment in Lightning II over the next 5 years to procure an initial 14 of these multi-role fifth generation aircraft, together with the necessary support arrangements and infrastructure.
The UK has already taken delivery of three Lightning II aircraft, with another one due to be delivered in 2016. These are being for used for testing and evaluation and are currently in the US. The UK’s first operational Squadron in the UK will be based at RAF Marham in Norfolk in 2018, which will become their Main Operating Base.
The Defence Secretary said, "Today’s announcement is a major step forward. The Lightning II will equip the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force with a highly advanced multi-role stealth combat aircraft, operating from both our new Queen Elizabeth class carriers and land bases. These aircraft will form part of the first UK-based squadron of F-35s, which will take up station at RAF Marham in 2018. This programme is also bringing substantial industrial benefits to the UK, providing thousands of skilled jobs in the UK aerospace industry."

It is anticipated that the contract will be finalised in the coming weeks, which will allow deliveries of the aircraft, within the contract, manufactured by Lockheed Martin, to commence from mid 2016.
Bernard Gray, the MOD’s Chief of Defence Materiel, said, "I am delighted that this agreement prepares the way for the first batch of operational combat aircraft. It ensures the MOD remains on target for achieving both operational capability from land bases and the start of flying trials aboard the carrier HMS Queen Elizabeth in 2018.
The aircraft provide an important step on the path to rebuilding the UK’s carrier strike capability. They feature short take off and vertical landing and the latest stealth and intelligence surveillance, target acquisition and reconnaissance technology."

UK Prime Minister David Cameron has announced that the UK plans to bring both of its new Queen Elizabeth-class aircraft carriers into operational service to ensure that one ship is available at high readiness at all times.

His move effectively pre-empts what had been expected to be one of the key issues for the 2015 Strategic Defence and Security Review (SDSR).

Speaking at the conclusion of the NATO summit in Wales on 5 September, Cameron confirmed that second ship HMS Prince of Wales would now be brought into service. "This will ensure that we will always have one carrier available, 100% of the time.

"They are an investment in British security, British prosperity and our place in the world, transforming our ability to project power globally, whether independently or with our allies."

The 2010 SDSR had planned to mothball and sell off one of the two 65,000-ton Queen Elizabeth-class carriers. However, the coalition government has latterly been re-examining the case to operate both ships.

The largest warship ever built in the UK has been officially named at a ceremony attended by the Queen, Prime Minister David Cameron and First Minister Alex Salmond.
The 65,000-tonne Royal Navy aircraft carrier HMS Queen Elizabeth was formally christened during an event at the Rosyth Dockyard in Fife, where the ship was assembled and fitted out.
The Queen said: "In sponsoring this new aircraft carrier I believe that Queen Elizabeth, as flagship for the Royal Navy, will be a source of inspiration and pride for us all.
"The Lord High Admiral, the Duke of Edinburgh, joins me in congratulating all those involved in the Aircraft Carrier Alliance on this magnificent achievement, and wishing her first ship's company well in the time ahead.
"Wherever this ship may serve, whatever tasks may be asked of her, let all those who serve on her know that on this day she was blessed with the prayers of us all for her success and for her safe return to calm waters.
"I name this ship Queen Elizabeth, may god bless her and all who sail in her."
The Queen then pressed a button to release the whisky, which successfully smashed on the ship's hull.

ROSYTH, SCOTLAND — Within sight of one of the crowning engineering achievements of Queen Victoria’s reign, Britain’s naval shipbuilding industry is counting down to the launch of a new aircraft carrier for the Royal Navy named after the current monarch, Queen Elizabeth.

The warship will be floated for the first time on July 4 in the Babcock-operated dock here as part of an official naming ceremony attended by the queenThe yard is almost within the shadow of the 1890s-built Forth railway bridge.

With three F-35 fighter jets due in Britain for the Royal International Air Tattoo and Farnborough air show later in July, there has even been speculation the aircraft could put in an appearance July 4.

A BAE Systems spokeswoman played down that suggestion during a visit by reporters here on April 29, saying the only F-35 likely to be seen would be a full-size mock-up on the deck of the new carrier.

The two 65,000-ton aircraft carriers under construction will likely never achieve the iconic status of the Forth bridge, but they are the largest warships ever built here. In defense terms, they’re probably second only in terms of complexity to the Astute-class nuclear submarines being built by BAE Systems at Barrow in northern England.

For many in the Royal Navy — and the Aircraft Carrier Alliance partnership of BAE Systems, Babcock, Thales UK and the Defence Ministry — there will be a huge sigh of relief come July 4 that the program has reached such a key milestone.

Between them, the then-Labour Party administration and the current Conservative-led coalition government have delayed the program by two years, which increased cost, tried to cancel it entirely, and changed their minds twice over the type of F-35 they wanted to operate.

Industry has played its part in the program’s problems, too.

Costs have spiraled, leading last year to a renegotiation of the contract’s value to £6.2 billion (US $10.4 billion) from the starting figure of roughly £3.8 billion.

The warships are being built in modules weighing up to 11,000 tons at yards around the UK, and then floated here for welding together and completion of fitting out.

The first module for the Prince of Wales, the second ship, has already been delivered here, and more of the huge blocks will start arriving within days of the first carrier exiting the dock.

The current plan is for the Prince of Wales to be structurally complete by July 2016, sea trials to begin in January 2019 and acceptance in August that year....

LONDON, Sept. 11 (UPI) --The largest hull sections of Britain's second of two new aircraft carriers have been docked in Scotland, marking the beginning of the ship's assembly.

The two hull sections -- one weighing about 6,700 tons and one weighing at nearly 9,000 tons -- were built by BAE Systems at company facilities in Portsmouth, England, and Glasgow, Scotland and are now in dry dock at Rosyth.

"Every milestone in the carrier program is hugely significant and the recent announcement that HMS PRINCE OF WALES will enter service means there is a real sense of excitement as we start to bring the second ship together," said Ian Booth, managing director at the Aircraft Carrier Alliance. "Everyone working across the Alliance is incredibly proud of the work undertaken so far, in what is currently one of the biggest engineering projects in the country, and we remain focused on delivering both ships to the highest standards."

HMS Prince of Wales is the second Queen Elizabeth-class carrier, which will carry F-35 Lightning II Joint Strike Fighters. It will be 920 feet long, have a range of 10,000 nautical miles and a speed of more than 29 knots.

The first carrier of the class is currently being outfitted with systems and is expected to begin sea trials in 2016.

The Aircraft Carrier Alliance responsible for the shipbuilding project is a partnership between BAE Systems, Thales UK, Babcock and the Ministry of Defense.

Aerial footage of HMS Queen Elizabeth afloat in the tidal basin at Rosyth - video taken by HMS Gannet SAR Flight.

LONDON — Britain is set to launch its first new aircraft carrier in more than 30 years when the queen officially names the warship Queen Elizabeth at a July 4 ceremony at Rosyth dockyard, Scotland.

Technically it’s not a launch but a flood up of the dock where the 65,000-ton warship has been assembled from modules built by maritime construction companies from around Britain.

Queen Elizabeth is the first of two carriers being built for the Royal Navy in a program targeted to cost £6.2 billion (US $10.5 billion), having started at £3.8 billion.

When the first warship becomes fully operational in 2020, it will restore a Royal Navy carrier strike capability axed in the Conservative-led coalition government’s 2010 strategic defense and security review (SDSR).

Along with budget-inspired cuts to the frigate and destroyer fleets, axing the Harrier jet and the 1980s-built light aircraft carriers they operated from has left the Royal Navy underpowered. Still, the jury remains out on whether the Navy will operate both carriers.

The 2015 SDSR is meant to decide whether one of the warships will be mothballed, sold or operated alongside its sister ship to give the Navy a 365-day-a-year carrier capability.

Defence Secretary Philip Hammond has favored spending the additional £70 million or so he said is required to keep both ships ready for operation. But with further defense budget cuts possible beyond 2015 and serious strains on Royal Navy personnel numbers, it’s far from a slam dunk for naval aviation.

Still, many in the defense sector here are just pleased to have reached the naming ceremony of the first carrier with the program in seemingly good shape. It’s not for want of trying that the build effort hasn’t been knocked too far off course.

Between them, the then-Labour administration and the current government have delayed the program by two years, tried to cancel it and changed their minds twice over the type of F-35 they wanted to operate.

On the industry side, the Aircraft Carrier Alliance (ACA) of BAE Systems, Babcock, Thales UK and the Ministry of Defence, which was pulled together to manage the program, has been a partial success.

A senior executive here said the teaming arrangement has “worked well and stopped industry squabbling amongst themselves, [but] it has done little to rein in costs.”

Paul Rafferty, the ACA project management director, defended the partnership, telling reporters “without it the project would have had a significantly different outcome.”

Just days after the naming ceremony, the carrier will be floated to another part of the Babcock-owned yard to be fitted out and work will start assembling the Prince of Wales.

The first of class is expected to begin sea trials in August 2016 and be accepted by the Navy in May 2017.

The Prince of Wales should be structurally complete in July 2016, start sea trials in January 2019 and be accepted later that year.

Pour la première fois depuis le HMS Illustrious, il y a 41 ans, la Royal Navy va mettre à l’eau un nouveau « porte-aéronefs ». Il s’agit du HMS Queen Elizabeth, qui sera baptisé en grande pompe le 4 juillet par la reine Elizabeth II d’Angleterre. La cérémonie se déroulera au chantier Babcock de Rosyth, en Ecosse, où le bâtiment est assemblé depuis la mise sur cale de son premier bloc, en 2010.

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