Joint Fight Jet Decision Flawed

[Garry Russell]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-21332054

As if we didn't already know that.

Are we ever going to get anything we actually need??

[DarrenL]

I think the £2billion so called costs to change to catapults and arrestor gear somewhat exaggerated, government contracts are always overpriced when they try to pretend they are right and often include unrelated items (like a support ship or the complete carrier air arm). The French version of the QE has been designed and planned to have catapults and arrester gear so the design work is there, the supplier is already there as the French carrier will use the same C13-2 steam catapults as the US Nimitz class carriers. I suspect fowl play, but then I always do when it comes to government procurement contracts.

The total cost of the carrier programme (both carriers) is £5.9 billion. Again, that's both carriers. The new US carrier USS Gerald Ford on it's own is £8.5billion.

[SkippyBing]

The French version of the QE has been designed and planned to have catapults and arrester gear so the design work is there

It depends what you call 'the design work', currently there's a big space on the plans labelled 'Steam Plant' and that's about it. No one really knows how to generate and store the amount and pressure of steam needed if you're not doing it anyway to drive the ship. That's why they were planning on using electro magnetic catapults and arrestor gear, although that shouldn't have cost the amount quoted to fit it's a bit hard to say exactly as the power requirements are designed around USN vessels which operate to different voltage/frequency than the RN so there may have been issues integrating it without the main fuse blowing every launch.
Essentially the QE Class were designed a bit too early to be built with EM launch gear and without the right power plant for steam gear. Then if you start messing about with the thing after you've ordered it the contractor will instantly charge you a fortune for design changes, because it lets them in the contract.
You'll also note the French haven't as yet ordered a QE Class carrier...

The total cost of the carrier programme (both carriers) is £5.9 billion. Again, that's both carriers. The new US carrier USS Gerald Ford on it's own is £8.5billion.

Although true, the QE Class costs include the complete design and the construction of the build facilities etc. For the Gerald Ford it's a modified Nimitz class and they've already built 10 of those so a lot of the costs have been amortised over those hulls.

[TSR2]

You'll also note the French haven't as yet ordered a QE Class carrier...
.

I wonder will they end up buying one of ours