HL Deb 17 November 2004 vol 666 c173WA
Lord Astor of Hever

asked Her Majesty's Government:

Whether, following the memorandum by the Ministry of Defence to the House of Commons Defence Committee (HC 572–11, Ev 105) where an in-service date for the first of the new aircraft carriers is not precisely stated, this means that the forecast in-service date of October 2012 will be delayed further. [HL4952]

Lord Bach

As with any project, the in-service date (ISD)—along with cost and performance requirements—for the future carrier (CVF) project will be formally endorsed at the main gate investment decision. Our target in-service dates for the two carriers remain 2012 and 2015 and estimates for their delivery continue to be developed progressively taking account of the maturing design and the development of the CVF alliance.