UK Carriers

Lots of news in the last couple of weeks about the first of the new UK carriers.  Although it is a big achievement to build such vessels - so much has been compromised that their effective usefulness has been limited.  Here is a good article from back in January about some of those compromises:

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2013/02/06/defence_committee_carrier_badness/

Christopher Booker has a good article in the Telegraph today about the history of some of the big design decisions for the carriers:

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/defence/10962798/Its-thanks-to-the-EU-weve-got-HMS-White-Elephant.html

The list is pretty big, a few that stand out:

1. Not nuclear powered, the carrier(s) will not have enough tanker support from the Navy.
2. Ski jump to avoid having to install catapults - now only one type of aircraft can be flown, the F35, which itself is in development trouble.  Ignoring of the electric catapult option.
3. Not enough escort ships to support a single carrier - where-ever it goes most of the Navy will have to follow.  There are only 6 Type 45's.