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CONTRACTS to build two new giant aircraft carriers for the Royal Navy have been signed. HMS Queen Elizabeth and HMS Prince of Wales will be the biggest and most powerful surface warships ever made in Britain, three times the size of the Navy's flagship, HMS Ark Royal. Their construction at shipyards in Portsmouth, Barrow-in-Furness, Govan and Rosyth will create or sustain 10,000 jobs. The 65,000-ton carriers, which will carry a crew of about 1,500 and up to 40 aircraft, will enter service in 2014 and 2016. The contracts for the ships, worth a total of £4bn, were signed in a ceremony on board Ark Royal in Portsmouth. Defence Secretary Des Browne hailed today's project milestone as a `historic day for everyone in defence'. He said: "The two aircraft carriers will provide our forces with the world-class capabilities they will... [read full story]
