Royal Navy: Discussions held to mothball HMS Prince of Wales or HMS Queen Elizabeth, national report says

The Daily Telegraph reports that a discussion was held between the Ministry of Defence (MoD) and the Treasury to explore what equipment could be cut as part of the Strategic Defence Review (SDR). Defence secretary John Healey told the House of Commons yesterday that the findings of the SDR are expected to be released in Spring 2025.

The review will address how the government will utilise the armed forces and prioritise its spending in the future. A Royal Navy source told The Telegraph it was “unsurprising” that HMS Queen Elizabeth and HMS Prince of Wales came under discussion as “they are big expensive pieces of kit that attract a lot of attention”. But they added “we are not looking to go down to one” as “it would be quite a big step down for us to go to one carrier”.

Rumours of the HMS Prince of Wales’ future surfaced earlier this year, with sources telling The Daily Mail that she “could be sold” in what was described as a worst case scenario. The £3.2bn warship is due to sail to Japan and the Indo-Pacific region for a deployment next year, with The Telegraph reporting that HMS Queen Elizabeth will go into a period of maintenance and standby while her sister ship is deployed.

Funding for the armed forces has ben a hot topic of discussion in parliament and elsewhere. Chancellor Rachel Reeves announced that defence would get a £2.9bn uplift in the October budget, but this number is not expected to be enough to cover current shortfalls. Discussions have also been raging about when the UK will increase defence spending to 2.5 per cent of GDP. At a previous defence select committee meeting, Professor Malcolm Chalmers, Deputy Director General of the Royal United Services Institute, said “hard choices” will still need to be made by the MoD, even if there is a trajectory to raise funding to 2.5 per cent of GDP.

Tom Sharpe, a former Royal Navy commander, said the carriers were a necessity for the fleet and the nation to fulfil all capabilities and commitments. He added that major navies around the world have them or are constructing them. A MoD spokesman said the SDR will “look at the threats” the nation faces and the capabilities the nation needs to meet the challenges, threats and opportunities of the 21st century.