§ Mr. Gerald HowarthTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence if it will be possible to adapt either of the two new aircraft carriers so as to make them interoperable with the Rafale aircraft. [97328]
§ Mr. IngramAs we announced on 30 September 2002, the Royal Navy's two new aircraft carriers will be configured to operate the STOVL version of the Joint Strike Fighter rather than a conventionally launched aircraft such as Rafale. The vessels will, however, be constructed to an adaptable design. which will allow us, if we so decide in the future, to modify the vessels from their original STOVL configuration to facilitate conventional flight operations.
Although it might be technically possible to build the vessels so that they could operate STOVL-JSF and conventional carrier aircraft simultaneously, we assess that this could not viably or safely be achieved without substantial revision of the basic design. This would impact on construction and through life operations, as well as affordability.