Written question asked by Gerald Howarth (Conservative) on Wednesday, 30 June 2004, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Wednesday, 1 September 2004. It was answered by Ivor Caplin (Labour) on Wednesday, 1 September 2004 on behalf of the Ministry of Defence.

Ministry of Defence

Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether the requirement for the Future Joint Combat Aircraft is dependent on the procurement of 50-60,000 tonne aircraft carriers; and what effect changes to the displacement of the future carriers would have on the requirement for the number of Joint Combat Aircraft.

Answer: Mr. Gerald Howarth: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether the requirement for the Future Joint Combat Aircraft is dependent on the procurement of 50-60,000 tonne aircraft carriers; and what effect changes to the displacement of the future carriers would have on the requirement for the number of Joint Combat Aircraft. [182388] Mr. Caplin: The physical size of any aircraft carrier will limit the maximum number of aircraft that can operate from it. The Department has not sought to fix the dimensions of the aircraft carriers during the assessment phase. The design of the ships will continue to evolve as we seek to balance the overall performance, time and cost parameters of this complex project as part of normal assessment phase activity. Decisions on the capability to be provided by CVF, including the number of aircraft capable of being deployed, will be taken at the Main Gate investment point.

Secondary information