Queen Elizabeth and her sister ship (Prince of Wales) will be the largest warships ever built in the United Kingdom. They are multi-purpose carriers that can adapt to complete multiple roles. It will be capable of carrying 40 aircraft (the F-35B Lightning II) or 25 Chinook helicopters, a major capability upgrade from the current Invincible class carriers. Image File history File links Current_event_marker. ... Image File history File links Download high resolution version (865x609, 95 KB) This is a copyrighted image that has been released by a company or organization to promote their work or product in the media, such as advertising material or a promotional photo in a press kit. ... Image File history File links Naval_Ensign_of_the_United_Kingdom. ... BAE Systems plc is the worlds fourth largest defence contractor,[3] the largest in Europe and a commercial aerospace manufacturer. ... The Thales Group (Euronext: HO) is a global electronics company serving aerospace, defence, and information technology markets worldwide. ... KBR can stand for: Kellogg, Brown and Root - American engineering and construction company Key based routing Royal Library of Belgium The ISO 639 linguistic identifier code for the Ethiopian language Kaffa (or Kafa). ... VT Group plc is the company formerly known as Vosper Thornycroft. ... Babcock International Group plc is a British based multinational engineering and services company. ... The beam of a ship is its width at the widest point, or a point alongside the ship at the mid-point of its length. ... The draft of a ships hull is the vertical distance from the bottom of the hull to the waterline. ... The F-35 Lightning II is a single-seat, single-engine, stealth-capable military strike fighter, a multi-role aircraft that can perform close air support, tactical bombing, and air-to-air combat. ... The AgustaWestland EH101 is a medium-lift helicopter originally developed as a joint venture between Westland Helicopters in the UK and Agusta in Italy for military applications but also marketed for civil use. ... Thales Future Carrier (CVF) Design HMS Prince of Wales will be the second of the Royal Navys two Queen Elizabeth class aircraft carriers and is scheduled to enter service in 2016. ... The F-35 Lightning II is a single-seat, single-engine, stealth-capable military strike fighter, a multi-role aircraft that can perform close air support, tactical bombing, and air-to-air combat. ... The sixth (and current) HMS Invincible. ...

The ships will be built in four sections, at Portsmouth, Rosyth, Barrow-in-Furness, and on the Clyde, by BAE Systems and VT Group before being assembled at one site.^[1] Portsmouth Naval Dockyard. ... Rosyth (pronounced Ross-sythe) (Scottish Gaelic: Ros Saoithe) is located on the Firth of Forth on Scotlands east coast, a mile (1. ... Barrow-in-Furness is a town in Cumbria, England. ... The River Clyde, looking eastwards upstream, as it passes beneath the Kingston Bridge in Central Glasgow. ... BAE Systems plc is the worlds fourth largest defence contractor,[3] the largest in Europe and a commercial aerospace manufacturer. ... VT Group plc is the company formerly known as Vosper Thornycroft. ...

The aircraft currently selected to be used on these carriers are the Short Take Off Vertical Landing (STOVL) variant of the Lightning II. Originally the carrier will be fitted with a ski-jump ramp but in the future, the flight deck will have the provision to be converted to use a catapult launch and arrestor recovery system should the U.K. choose to operate the conventional F-35C or an Unmanned Combat Air Vehicle (UCAV) similar to the X-47 Pegasus. STOVL is an acronym for Short Take Off and Vertical Landing. ... CATOBAR (Catapult Assisted Take Off But Arrested Recovery) is a system used for the launch and recovery of aircraft from the deck of an aircraft carrier. ... The F-35 Lightning II is a single-seat, single-engine, stealth-capable military strike fighter, a multi-role aircraft that can perform close air support, tactical bombing, and air-to-air combat. ... J-UCAS Boeing X-45A UCAV technology demonstrator The Unmanned Combat Air Vehicle (UCAV) or combat drones is the name of a new class of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs). ... The Northrop Grumman X-47A Pegasus is a demonstration Unmanned Combat Aerial Vehicle. ...

The defence secretary Des Browne confirmed the £3.8bn order for the two carriers on Wednesday 25th July. The work will be completed at yards on the Clyde and at Rosyth. The news was welcomed by politicians, trade unions and business.

References

Year 2007 (MMVII) is now the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era. ... is the 208th day of the year (209th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ...

See also

• HMS Queen Elizabeth for other ships of this name.
• The Royal Navy in the 21st Century