Asked by: Lord Willoughby de Broke (Non-affiliated - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask His Majesty's Government when they expect the aircraft carriers HMS Queen Elizabeth and HMS Prince of Wales to be ready for active service.
Answered by Earl of Minto - Shadow Minister (Defence)
The Royal Navy is one of only two navies in the world able to operate 5th generation aircraft from two carriers.
By maintaining two aircraft carriers, the UK has one carrier available at very high readiness for operational deployment, at all times.
Any decision to deploy the carriers will be made in conjunction with our allies and partners and will be based on operational need. This is kept under constant review.