Queen’s Speech

Lord Luke Excerpts

Thursday 17th May 2012 Lords Chamber

[Lord Luke]

My Lords, I am honoured to be able to contribute to the defence part of the debate on the Queen’s Speech. I am becoming much more positive about the direction in which British defence is going. Far too much money was wasted under the previous Administration, and I am pleased to see the coalition taking a common-sense approach to procurement and making sure that the defence of our country and protection of our brave service men and women are always our first priority.

I applaud the MoD’s recent decision to carry on building both aircraft carriers for the Navy. We never know what the threats of the future may be and, as we know from the past, warfare is changing all the time. Ensuring that we have the capability to fend off any situation thrown in our direction is imperative. Therefore, having two carriers is a must. No matter how sophisticated the weapon, all such apparatus requires maintenance and, eventually, major refits.

In the case of a carrier, it is vital that maintenance is thorough and not rushed. Great care must always be taken, and while one carrier is out of action, there must another one to plug the gap. Will the Government confirm that both carriers will come into commission more or less simultaneously? I know that it is hard to be precise, but can the Minister tell us the latest estimated cost of these carriers up to date and what the eventual total might be?

Can my noble friend say a little more about the interoperability of these carriers with the French and, indeed, with the Americans? Can he confirm that the initial three Joint Strike Fighters scheduled to be delivered to us will all be the STOVL versions? The right honourable Secretary of State, in his Statement on the 10 May, said that the relatively short range of the STOVL JSF would be less important because of the use of air-to-air refuelling. Where will the tanker aircraft fly from? And what tanker aircraft will we have in eight years’ time, when we should be able to start using the carriers?

How many JSF fighters do we have on order and how many will we eventually be able to deploy? How many will be usually stationed on each carrier? How are we going about training personnel for all this new equipment, so that as soon as the carriers and the JSFs are ready, time is not wasted with training? Have we indeed started, as I think I have read, sending key personnel to America to begin to learn the ropes on the American carriers?

Can my noble friend tell me the latest estimated date for the first JSF fighter being delivered and, therefore, when training can begin in the United Kingdom? What thought has the Minister had for the future of these carriers and the types of equipment that we may have to accommodate as warfare changes? I imagine that, as the years pass, warfare is bound to become even more technical and space on these carriers will be needed to accommodate new and developing technology over their 50-year life expectancy. Will the Minister ensure that there is spare room available to accommodate extra gear if required? I look forward to the Minister’s response.