At that time in 2019, the British aircraft carrier project just served for a short time, the question came up: the British economy has not slowed down completely since the 2008 financial crisis, the national budget is tight, it is not to waste money to start a dual aircraft carrier system, is it not to find something for yourself?
He said that the aircraft carrier was not built and finished, follow-up maintenance, personnel training, ship-carrying aircraft support, these expenses are bigger, and the UK can not bear. He also cited the example that the aircraft carrier such things are easy for small countries to eat and not good. as a result, five years have passed, the days of the British Navy are indeed more and more sad, and the problems of the aircraft carrier layer out.
This British aircraft carrier project is called the "Queen Elizabeth" class. The first ship "Queen Elizabeth" was commissioned in 2017, and the second ship "Prince of Wales" was commissioned in 2019. According to British media reports, the total investment was initially budgeted at 4 billion pounds, but the actual overspending reached about 6.4 billion pounds, which was converted into about 55 billion yuan. This money is not a small amount for Britain. The national finance is already stretched, and it has to deal with people's livelihood issues such as medical care and education.
Why not build? because Britain wants to regain the naval glory of the "Imperial Empire", feeling that an aircraft carrier can brush the sense of presence in the world, deter potential opponents, and by the way close to the U.S. allies. The aircraft carrier discharge of 65,000 tons, can carry the F-35B fighter aircraft, the parameters are quite advanced, but since the day of service, the problem has not been broken.
The earliest trouble was in December 2017, when the "Queen Elizabeth" had just been in service for more than ten days, and there was a water leak problem. Seawater seeped into the propeller shaft seal, with 200 liters of water per hour, so the Navy had to repair it quickly. In January, 2018, the fire protection system failed again, and the hangar sprinkler sprayed water indiscriminately, causing the water inside to flood the mountains, and the sea trial plan was completely messed up.
British Navy officials later admitted that during that time the aircraft carrier was leaking water almost every week, seal and valve aging was the main cause. This was not over, and in October 2020, the "Prince of Wales" stopped at the port, the fire pipeline broke, the boat's cabin flooded, the short route was still on fire, repaired for 193 days. These small bugs didn't look up, but each repair cost money, and also delayed training and deployment.
A more serious failure is a problem with the propeller shaft. On August 27, 2022, the "Prince of Wales" had just set out to sea from Portsmouth and was preparing to go to the United States for training. The starboard propeller shaft broke before going far. The 33-ton propeller had to be dismantled and towed back to the shipyard for repair. The maintenance cost was 25 million pounds, and the Navy also found that the port shaft was misaligned, which was potentially risky.
In April 2023, the media bombardment "Prince of Wales" became a "waste field", the parts were removed to the "Queen Elizabeth" because the navy had no money to repair two at the same time. The British Navy denied to cancel, saying it was only a temporary measure, but until July 2023 to repair offshore.
On February 3, the Queen Elizabeth was preparing to participate in NATO's "Solid Defenders" exercise, and finally checked to find that the right-wing spiral axle connector failed, and could only temporarily be replaced on the top of the "Prince of Wales."This exercise was NATO's largest since the Cold War, and Britain had wanted to borrow the muscle show, resulting in the chain falling.
Inside the Navy reports that these failures are due to design defects, excessive axle vibration, short lifetime.Financial pressure is greater, the British government has to squeeze money from elsewhere to repair ships, and defense budget shortages are severe.
From 2025 to now in September, the life of British aircraft carriers is even harder. In February, the United Kingdom announced that the "Prince of Wales" would lead the aircraft carrier strike group to deploy in the Indo-Pacific in March and conduct joint exercises with the United States and Japan. Before departure, Brigadier James Blackmore, commander of the navy, said that this was the largest deployment this century and wanted to show Britain's support for the international order.
But what is the reality? April 22st, departing from Parksundmuth, crossing the Mediterranean, the Red Sea, the Indian Ocean, and June 23st, stop Singapore, receiving officials and visitors, and selecting 600 people on board to visit. Then go to Australia to participate in the "escorting army knife-2025" exercise, participating 19 countries, the largest in history. In September, on the way back, also participated in the "Unity of the Five Nations 2025" exercise.
It sounds quite lively, but there are no shortage of problems. In May, the British media reported that the crew of the "Queen Elizabeth" didn't have a hot bath for six months, the water supply system was broken, and the parts waited for half a year to arrive. The military said it would give priority to improving the diversity of carrier-based aircraft, but the public didn't buy it. Retired general Chris Parry said it was ridiculous and even the shower could not be repaired. What about combat capability?
On June 14, an F-35B that took off from Prince of Wales landed in an emergency landing at the Indian airport, fortunately okay, but exposed the operating risk of the carrier. Britain ordered a total of 138 F-35Bs, but so far fewer than 30 are available, the crash lost one, and still a lot of training in the United States. The number of aircraft on the carrier deck is insufficient, combat efficiency is reduced.
In March 2025, the British Defense Minister announced the withdrawal of two landing ships, an escort ship and a tanker to save money to cope with the shortage. Government officials discussed the seizure of an aircraft carrier, and domestic controversy was big. The media said the “Prince of Wales” was rotted with a rotting plaque, the rotting chain was removed from the ship. The Navy acknowledged that it was difficult to optimize resources, but denied plans to sell.
Overall, aircraft carriers spend more time repairing in the dock rather than going out to sea to perform missions. Internationally, Britain wants to use aircraft carriers to deepen defense cooperation with Japan, South Korea, and Australia. However, the terrorist attacks in the Red Sea, the escalation in the Middle East, and the complicated situation in the Indo-Pacific make the deployment risky. The British people opposed it, saying it was too dangerous and unworthy.
In 2019, he said that in five years it could be closed one, and in 2024 there will be reports of discussions on the sale of the "Prince of Wales", although it is not true, but the financial pressure has shaken the dual aircraft carrier system.
Britain from day to day imperial to now, the naval power has shrunk seriously, relying on the aircraft carrier to return to the top, but the economic foundation can not follow. aircraft carrier should be a strategic deterrent tool, and the result has become a financial burden.
To put it simply, the British economic recession was the root. After the 2008 crisis, the growth slumped and Brexit intensified. The defense budget accounted for a low percentage of GDP, aircraft carrier operating costs were high, repair, fuel, personnel wages combined with yearly excess spending. Technically, aircraft carrier design was short, F-35B compatibility problems were many, the British Navy had little experience, and management vulnerabilities were large.
The global naval structure has changed, and the era of China's three aircraft carriers has begun. The 11 strike groups of the United States are far ahead, while the British dual aircraft carriers are unable to do so. In NATO, except the United States, Britain has the largest number of aircraft carriers, but its role in actual combat is limited.
Zhang Zhaozhong's analysis gives inspiration: military power cannot be divorced from economic reality. The United Kingdom wants to play offshore balance and has a presence in the Indo-Pacific, but its strength cannot keep up with its mouth. It is no exaggeration to say that the netizen's prophecy is accurate, because he sees the reality of the problem.
The Chinese navy develops self-reliance and avoids British detours. In the long run, the British dual aircraft carriers need to be adjusted, perhaps shrinking their scale, and focusing on European defense. Otherwise, if this continues, the aircraft carrier will really become a laughing stock.