Wow, an Aircraft Carrier that can hold a massive 12 aircraft! And 12 short range planes at that.
What the heck do they need a ship of that size for, with only 12 "jump jets"?
It can hold up to 50 aircraft. The statement from the defence secretary was that in normal peacetime deployments there would be 12 F35B's carried plus various helicopters. Also the statement 'air is free, steel is cheap' holds here. It costs only about 20% more to build a 65000-70000 ton carrier over a 35000-40000 ton and gives a much greater flexibility. I would rather have the extra space and not use it, than wish I had it when it was needed.
The fact is the UK does not have the defence budget of the US and cannot afford to routinely deploy carrier wings of 50+ aircraft. In a war situation the carriers would soon be filled up though.
It is also pointless to compare them to the US carriers. The US spends over 10 times the amount on defence than the UK.
The important thing is whether they are suitable for the RN requirements, which I believe they are. Whilst we still have overseas territories and obligations to defend them, then we need carriers.
The airgroups will be tailored for each mission. There will be times during exercises or training when 24 or 36 F35's are carried but mostly just 12 during normal deployments.
Again Cats and Traps would have have been ideal but the STOVL set up suits us fine. The cost saving enables 2 carriers to be operated. The differences are not what they used to be and STOVL has one benefit of operating in worse weather conditons. The F35B whilst having a lower range than the F35C, I believe it is similar to the F18 which has served the US well until the F35 replaces them. The 'ski jump' allows a significantly heavier payload to be carried than a flat deck, so as ugly as they are it is better to have them.
My only concern with STOVL is the lack of decent AEW. I would love to have seen the Hawkeyes used. I wonder if they could be take off with the ski jump?