The UK’s aircraft carriers could be mothballed under a Treasury cost-cutting proposal.
It is understood that a discussion between the Ministry of Defence and Rachel Reeves’s department explored what equipment could be cut as part of the forthcoming strategic defence review.
The review, which will be published early next year, will address how the Government plans to focus the military on the changing nature of conflict while saving money.
A Royal Navy source said it was “unsurprising” that HMS Prince of Wales and HMS Queen Elizabeth, which both cost more than £3 billion to build, had come under discussion because “they are big expensive pieces of kit that attract a lot of attention”.
“We are not looking to go down to one,” the source insisted, adding that “it would be quite a big step down for us to go down to one carrier”.
HMS Prince of Wales is due to lead the carrier strike group to the Indo-Pacific next year and when it does so, its sister ship will undergo a period of maintenance.
It is understood that when the prospect of mothballing one of the carriers to save money was raised, as first reported by The Times, the case was made that one carrier is required on standby so that the other can sail.
In last month’s Budget, the Chancellor gave defence a £2.9 billion uplift. However, military chiefs criticised the sum, which they said “won’t touch the sides” for what the Armed Forces needed.
While Navy sources stressed how critical the more than £6 billion carriers are to the fleet, with the RAF also making use of them, they have come under scrutiny in recent years for their respective performances.
At the start of this year HMS Queen Elizabeth was supposed to lead the largest Nato exercise since the Cold War, but pulled out after an “issue” with a propeller shaft was spotted during final checks.
It came fewer than two years after HMS Prince of Wales broke down off the Isle of Wight after a similar malfunction with a coupling on the starboard propeller, which meant it could not take part in exercises with the US navy and caused a delay of nine months to operational service.
Meanwhile, The Telegraph revealed last month how HMS Prince of Wales had to rely on foreign support at sea amid a Royal Navy staffing crisis, which meant it did not have its much needed solid stores support ship.
Writing in The Telegraph, Tom Sharpe, a former Navy commander, defended the carriers, which he said “cover all and, best of all, do so in a location of our choosing”.
“This is why all the major navies in the world either have them or are building them,” he said.
A Ministry of Defence spokesman said: “The strategic defence review will look at the threats we face and the capabilities we need to meet the challenges, threats and opportunities of the 21st century.”
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