Queen Names UK's Newest And Biggest Warship

By Alistair Bunkall, Defence Correspondent

The Queen will officially name the UK's new aircraft carrier later today, marking a major milestone in the history of the Royal Navy.

At 65,000 tons, HMS Queen Elizabeth is the biggest and most powerful warship ever built in the UK.

The naming ceremony, in Scotland, will be attended by the Queen, the prime minister, the defence secretary, the leader of the SNP and heads of military.

Helicopters will initially be onboard. Pic: Aircraft Carrier Alliance

The Queen will smash a bottle of Islay malt whisky, rather than the traditional champagne, on the ship's hull, reflecting the role Scotland has played in its construction.

It is significant, given the country is only two months from the independence referendum.

Eventually, F-35B Lightning II Joint Strike Fighter planes will fly off the carrier, although the Government is yet to announce the order of the first tranche of planes.

Confirmation of that order is expected within weeks.

A CGI image of the ship's runway. Pic: Aircraft Carrier Alliance

The F-35 is the world's first fifth-generation fighter jet. The 'B' variant ordered by the UK Government can land vertically and take off on a short runway like its predecessor, the Harrier jump jet.

But it means that, for its first two years of service, HMS Queen Elizabeth will sail with only helicopters onboard.

There has been no shortage of controversy around the building of two aircraft carriers at a time of severe budget cuts in the military.

The current and previous Government changed their minds over which variant of F-35 to order, resulting in expensive changes to the ship's design.

A decision on the future of the second carrier, HMS Prince of Wales, has been delayed until 2016, although the Government is expected to keep it as part of the fleet rather than sell it off.

Together, the two carriers will cost £6.2bn to build.

Lord West, the former First Sea Lord, said: "We absolutely need two. If you've only got one, you've only got one for sure for  80% of the time. If you've got two, you've got one for 100% of the time."

Parts of the carrier have been constructed in six cities across the UK, supporting 10,000 jobs and more than 600 companies in the supply chain.

Some 10,000 people helped build the ship. Pic: Aircraft Carrier Alliance

Defence analyst Howard Wheeldon said: "It's a very important day for engineering, a very important day for jobs, for skills, for achievement.

"It's a tremendous achievement to have built these ships, the largest ever for the Royal Navy and the largest ever built here in the UK.

"It represents a great future for the military and the nation as a whole."

The first sea-going captain of HMS Queen Elizabeth will be Commodore Jerry Kyd, the former Captain of HMS Ark Royal and HMS Illustrious, the UK's most recently active aircraft carriers.

Ark Royal was retired in 2011 and HMS Illustrious, which has sailed to Rosyth to sit alongside her successor, will be decommissioned later this year.

Later this month, the new carrier will be floated for the first time before she embarks on sea trials for a few years and finally enters service.

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