Defence written question – answered at on 20 June 2011.
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether the Queen Elizabeth aircraft carriers are designed to allow for the operation of fixed-wing carrier on-board delivery aircraft.
The Queen Elizabeth (QE) class aircraft carriers are optimised around an air group consisting of the Joint Strike Fighter and Merlin helicopter, with a number of other aircraft designated as ‘secondary aircraft’ which could be operated from the carrier—but with varying degrees of operational limitation.
Following the decision to convert at least one of the carriers to carry the more capable carrier variant of the Joint Strike Fighter, the list of secondary aircraft is being updated to reflect the change in aircraft launch and recovery equipment. While some fixed-wing aircraft are included within this list, we have not yet made any decisions as to whether there is a requirement for a specific onboard delivery aircraft, and if so, which aircraft or helicopter would undertake such a role.
Yes1 person thinks so
No1 person thinks not
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