Tobias Ellwood is the Member of Parliament for Bournemouth East and Parliamentary Private Secretary to the Europe Minister.
Political parties (and successive governments) have been united in supporting the concept of aircraft carriers as part Britain’s defence mix but have differed on the detail. With two Queen Elizabeth Class (QEC) carriers now under construction, the question we face is do we operate two carriers or one and what balance of carrier strike and expeditionary assets should be included.Sadly, almost from its inception, the debate about how these two ships will be utilised has been confused, even undignified. Mention the subject in Parliament and one is immediately drawn into the weeds about the type, performance, and cost of the aircraft that will finally replace our iconic Harrier.
Whilst optimised to deliver Carrier Strike, they can also function as a transportable maritime garrison and perform a variety of roles from Littoral Manoeuvre to crisis response/humanitarian tasks. Indeed in an age of reduced defence budgets this new size of ship, accompanied by the right assets, could set an international standard in how a versatile aircraft carrier of the future should operate.