Queen Elizabeth-class aircraft carrier

The Queen Elizabeth class comprises two conventionally powered STOVL aircraft carriers that operate F-35B fighters as the core of the United Kingdom's carrier-strike capability.

Overview

The Queen Elizabeth class consists of HMS Queen Elizabeth (R08) and HMS Prince of Wales (R09), the largest warships built for the Royal Navy. The ships restored British fixed-wing carrier aviation after the Harrier force was withdrawn in 2010. They operate the short-takeoff and vertical-landing F-35B Lightning from a ski-jump flight deck, without catapults or arrestor wires.

The Royal Navy describes the class as displacing 65,000 tonnes, measuring 284 m in length and accommodating as many as 1,600 personnel. Its published maximum aviation capacity is 72 aircraft, including up to 36 F-35Bs, although routine deployments carry smaller and mission-dependent air groups.

The two-ship fleet is designed around availability rather than the continuous operation of two independent carrier strike groups. As Navy Lookout explains, one ship can provide the carrier capability while the other undergoes maintenance, training or regeneration. Both vessels are based at HMNB Portsmouth, but major underwater maintenance requires docking at Rosyth.

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