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Defence Procurement

That is true, but we need a range of vehicles to meet the requirements, and the demand from the front line must always come first. Obviously, where there is British-provided equipment with the right capability at the right price, we ought to take that approach, and that is what the defence industrial strategy seeks to achieve. Current operations are our priority, but we must also be alive to emerging and future threats and plan to meet them. Tomorrow's conflicts may be very different to those we face today. Looking back 10 years, our prime focus was on enforcing a fragile peace in the Balkans. Today we are committed in the dust and heat of Iraq and Afghanistan—10 years from now, who knows? However, taking new equipment from the drawing board into service can take many years, so we need to be thinking now about challenges we may face in 10 years or more and the equipment our forces will need to tackle those challenges. In July, my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister announced the spending settlement for defence. At the same time, we announced our intention to proceed with the purchase of two new large—65,000-tonne—aircraft carriers for the Royal Navy. Those ships have three times the displacement of our current carriers. They will bring a step change in our maritime capability and contribute to the biggest naval shipbuilding programme for over 20 years. The new carriers, to be named HMS Queen Elizabeth and HMS Prince of Wales, will be the largest vessels ever operated by the Royal Navy. They are expected to enter service in 2014 and 2016, and will be the most capable carrier force outside the USA, enabling us to deliver increased strategic power and influence around the world at a time and place of our choosing. The two biggest companies involved in the project—VT and BAE Systems—are to form a joint venture for future shipbuilding and support, to improve efficiency. The order for the carriers will be placed with an alliance of companies. The construction of the ships in blocks at shipyards in Govan, Barrow, Portsmouth and Rosyth is expected to create in the region of 10,000 jobs.