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World
Navy Force News - United Kingdom |
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start of the assembly of first of the two British vessels Queen Elizabeth
Class aircraft carriers. |
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Preparations
for the assembly of the Queen Elizabeth Class aircraft carriers got
off to a flying start today as Goliath, one of Europe's largest cranes,
swung into action under the watchful eye of Minister for Defence Equipment,
Support and Technology Peter Luff. |
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Artist's
impression of the Future Queen Elizabeth Class aircraft carrier
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The
event, held at Babcock's shipyard in Rosyth, marked the official start
of the assembly of the first of the two 65,000-tonne vessels - the largest
warships ever built for the Royal Navy.
It will be
followed by the first major lift in the programme later this week when
the first section of the two-deck-high 8,000-tonne centre block, which
includes a section of flight deck, will be lifted onto the seven-deck-high
8,000-tonne lower block 03, marking a major milestone in the build of
the first of class, HMS Queen Elizabeth.
After touring
the dockyard and meeting the workforce, Mr Luff said:
"This
is an exciting week for the carrier programme and it is a huge privilege
to witness what can only be described as history in the making.
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After
touring the dockyard and meeting the workforce, Mr Luff said:
"This
is an exciting week for the carrier programme and it is a huge privilege
to witness what can only be described as history in the making.
"The
job of building these truly formidable carriers is a huge challenge
but we are very fortunate to have such a dedicated and skilled workforce
who can rise to this challenge and provide the UK with its largest and
most powerful aircraft carriers to date."
The vessels
are being delivered by the Aircraft Carrier Alliance made up of the
MOD, Babcock, BAE Systems and Thales, and, with advanced construction
underway at six shipyards across the UK, the Queen Elizabeth Class aircraft
carrier programme is sustaining thousands of skilled jobs throughout
industry.
Chief of Defence
Materiel, Bernard Gray, said:
"The
Queen Elizabeth Class is a hugely important project for MOD and for
the UK's shipbuilding industry. I'm very pleased at this impressive
progress on the construction and assembly of first of class."
The Queen
Elizabeth Class carriers will be the centrepiece of Britain's military
capability and will routinely operate 12 of the carrier-variant Joint
Strike Fighter jets, allowing for unparalleled interoperability with
allied forces.
Each carrier
will have nine decks, plus a flight deck the size of three football
pitches, and two propellers weighing 33 tonnes - nearly two-and-a-half
times as heavy as a double-decker bus - driving the ship at a maximum
speed of over 25 knots (46km/h).
The vessels
will form the cornerstone of Britain's ability to project military power
overseas, and will be used for operations ranging from providing air
support in conflict zones to providing humanitarian aid and disaster
relief. |
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Defence Minister
Peter Luff at the controls of crane Goliath as it prepares to lift the
first section of one of the Royal Navy's new aircraft carriers into
place
[Picture: Mark Owens, Crown Copyright/British MOD 2011] |
