Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, when he plans for UK-crewed fighter jets to be stationed on the deck of a Queen-Elizabeth class aircraft carrier.
HMS Queen Elizabeth will spend time on acceptance, commissioning and trials activity, and training of the ship's company, to ensure she is ready to start aircraft operations. This will allow a coherent build-up of capability including aircraft trials, in order to deliver an Initial Operating Capability (Carrier Strike) in 2020, at which point she will be capable of operating a wide number of aircraft, including helicopters and the UK's F-35B aircraft.