Defence written question – answered at on 20 July 2004.
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence
(1) whether it remains his policy to acquire two British-built new aircraft carriers; and by what dates;
(2) what assessment his Department has made of the suitability of United States carriers to carry out each of the projected CVF tasks if purchased by the Royal Navy;
(3) what discussions his Department has held with United States counterparts concerning the possible purchase of US carriers for the Royal Navy.
holding answer
We remain fully committed to buying two new aircraft carriers for the Royal Navy. There has been no change to our policy that Royal Navy warship hulls will be built in the United Kingdom. Given this position, we have not considered the possible purchase of United States carriers, nor have we therefore assessed the suitability of United States carriers to undertake projected CVF tasks. However, the Department regularly exchanges information with the US on our respective programmes, for example in areas such as the integration of the Joint Combat Aircraft. Our target in-service dates for the two carriers remain 2012 and 2015.
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