The HMS Queen Elizabeth Class: Britain's Most Powerful Aircraft Carrier...

alongside arguably only nuclear weapons aircraft carriers are the hot ticket item that any major military power craves more than any other as they have the ability to be plonked anywhere on the globe and reduce anything that either it's captain or the politician paying his mortgage happen to find irksome to Rubble currently a mere 10 Nations operate true carriers those capable of operating fixed-wing aircraft with a further six operating still impressive but undeniably lesser helicopter carriers and among the Nations one in particular does stand out it was the UK who invented aircraft carriers all the way back in 1918 when whoever was wearing the Big Shiny hat at the time smashed a ceremonial bottle of champagne over the bow of HMS Argus the first ever true aircraft carrier and pushed her out to sea for the first time well since then despite some stiff competition from some New Kids on the Block here and there they've remained the pioneers of the type operating them more or less constantly since that faithful day the latest addition to this linear most lofty is the Queen Elizabeth class a pair of top-of-the-line carriers that have bities baddies quaking in their boots as they are reminded that Britannia still rules the waves oh well so patriotic headlines would have you believe because well others hold quite the opposite opinion that they're actually complete junk a colossal waste of taxpayers pounds that have little strategic utility and about as much real use as a chocolate teapot today we're going to be getting to the bottom of the matter as we we explore their history design and above all else the reasons that some hold them in such poor regards so let's get [Music] cracking Hello everybody if you use an iPad like me I've got something truly gamechanging for you and that is paperlike screen protector 2.1 now look if you're tired of the old glassy Fe of your iPad and want to bring the magic of paper to your digital canvas look no further paper like is the OG paper field screen protector that's got millions of creators Around the World Hooked I put this thing on a few weeks ago they sent me one for free very kind of them and as much as I like drawing on it with the pencil perhaps my favorite thing about it is just the way it makes the screen feel it even makes a nice sound when you touch it there's no more like fingerprints going all over this thing and then when you do write on it you guys won't be able to hear it it sounds exactly like paper which is probably why they call it paper like you just drawn it like that it's awesome it doesn't even reflect things too much my camera it's what is it it's perfect yes it is it's all possible because of something called Nano do technology these tiny micro beads make your apple pencil dance on the screen mimicking the feel of pencil on paper I have to say just a little note from me here I thought when they first were going to send this to me I'm like yeah apple thought of it about this they did the iPad they made it perfect already and I was a bit skeptical and I was wrong I really like this it's just matte surface just feels nicer it's just better this isn't your thee Mill protector it's a Swiss Masterpiece paper like 2.0 is a plastic file with Nano dots embedded it's crafted in Switzerland by experts with over Century of experience probably not exactly making iPad covers because that would be way longer of a time but somehow they have that plus it also acts as a protector so your iPad's not going to get scratched up which is nice plus there's different bundles so you can combine them to make the ultimate Digital experience upgrade your iPad like I did it's surprisingly affordable it's it's it's just really nice it's just nice I just keep want to do that thank you to paper like for the sponsorship today all you need to do is go to paper like.com megaprojects Join the Revolution it's awesome just get one of these there's a link below and now back to today's video the decision to construct the Queen Elizabeth class the largest water ships ever built for the Royal Navy was announced in July 2007 with the contracts being signed in July 2008 intended to replace the Invincible Class A Class of three 1970s vintage carriers that come at the NAU were ironically anything but Invincible the Queen Elizabeth class was to be a significant upgrade in size capability and versatility as well as being capable of deploying the mighty F35 lightning 2 HMS Queen Elizabeth the bip of the class and HMS Prince of Wales had an initial budget of just over 4 billion pound for the pair but given the uh often undersold nature of British military procurement this soon rocketed up to just over 7 and a half billion pounds come 2019 it's apparently gotten even heavier since then too but more recent figures are hard to come by the construction process of these ships was a nationwide effort and involved multiple shipyards across the UK for Queen Elizabeth her construction began in 2009 with major sections of the ship being built in six different shipyards and assembled in Rossi dockyard in Scotland this work took a fair old while and she was eventually commissioned in December 2017 Prince of Wales shared a similar construction story with her construction starting in 2021 and also taking eight years with her being commissioned in November 2019 both displays approximately 72,000 tons and have a length of just under 300 M figures that put them at just under three times the displacement of the Invincible class that they replaced and it also just nudges them into the super carrier category being such big girls they natur carry a not inconsiderable airwing consisting of up to 24 f-35s under normal circumstances and up to 36 in more extreme cases alongside a cheeky view supplementary Merlin helicopters to serve in both the utility and Airborne early warning roles for context this is roughly a third of the number of aircraft that the American Gerald R Fords the current king of carriers can carry but note that the Ford also displaces nearly 30,000 tons more than a Queen Elizabeth carrier to help get all of that in the air the Queen Elizabeth class utilizes a large Flight Deck equipped with a ski jump and has no catapult capabilities as you may initially assume a carrier of its size would and do remember that DW because it's important later as for defense both ships are equipped with three 20 mm fallons close-in weapon systems that provide both anti-aircraft and anti-missile coverage at short range as well as 4 30 mm ds30 M Mark 2 automated small caliber guns and an array of 12.7 mm M2 Browning machine guns for defense against surface threats all of these hooked up to an advanced sensor and radar Suite that includes the advanced Artisan 3D radar and s850 M long range radar which allow them to operate Peak efficiency and touch wood afford the ships a half decent level of protection power comes from two Rolls-Royce Marine Trent mt30 gas turbines and four diesel generator sets driving two electric motors it is not nuclear powered as people might initially suspect this setup affords a top speed of over 25 knots which notably is a bit slower than other diesel powered super carriers such as the Chinese Fuji which boasts a top speed of give take 30 knots and similarly is also slower than most nuclear powerered super carriers with the American Gerald R Ford and limits class capable of hitting roughly 30 knots Queen Elizabeth quickly moved into a rigorous phase of operational testing and training following her commissioning by February 2018 all appeared well and she was then moved to the first phases of operational training which included initial sea training programs heavy weather testing and helicopter certification processes this period also saw her first overseas Port visit to jalter this was certainly a most triumphant situation but it was more than just a glory Cruise as the drawn was also used to test her Integrated Systems during longer voyages and to also conduct her first ever replenishment at Sea something her crew had to get their heads around where she ever to be a serious Deployable military asset then in the Autumn of 2018 she embarked on her first significant deployment Westland 18 a training exercise that took her across the Atlantic and saw her put her first planes into the sky as well as practice her interoperability with Allied NATO forces particularly the Americans all in all this went well enough no planes crashed and the Americans seemed chapped enough with her performance what more could Her Majesty want from the Navy as for Prince of Wales she started undergoing sea trials in April 2021 and achieved full operational status in October 2021 she then participated in an international exercise off the coast of Scotland this exercise was notable for involving joint operations of both Queen Elizabeth class carriers and once again things seem to go fine no disasters no stress no bother 2021 would be a landmark year for the Queen Elizabeth as she embarked on a maiden operational deployment known as carrier strike group 21 or CSG 21 this deployment took her across the Mediterranean the Indian Ocean and into the indopacific region where she partook in a series of diplomatic visits and joint exercises with partner Nations this included operations and exercises with the US Japan India and several other countries the peace to resistance of Queen Elizabeth's actions as part of CSG 21 however would be her actions against Isis as part of operation Shader the UK's contribution to the US's own operation inherent resolve their war against Isis operating in the Mediterranean and the Middle East the carrier's airwing conducted a series of precision strikes against Isis targets these operations were aimed at degrading isis's capabilities and supporting Coalition ground forces and were significant not just for that but also for being the only time that a Queen Elizabeth area has launched its planes in anger so far all in all then this doesn't sound too bad does it pretty standard stuff so why does some call the Queen Elizabeth Class A boond doogle well stay tuned because in the footnotes of that overview lies a whole other potential Story one that is well just a bit worse where did it all go wrong how did a class of ships with a performance seemingly so adequate if not outright good on paper come to be swamped in controversy well the first criticism was Financial as many believe that the UK simply cannot afford super carriers this might sound odd at first because after all the country is the sixth richest on Earth by nominal GDP but such a figure which is often selectively chosen by patriotic yet blinker analysists hides an uncomfortable reality the country's economy is and there's no other way to say it this becomes apparent if one steps away from GDP and takes a look at some other economic indicators Chief among which is poverty which is currently exploding in the UK the Joseph rry Foundation a very old charity that conducts and funds research aimed at solving poverty in the UK paints a rather Bleak picture of this highlighting the fact that over 22% of the British population now lives in poverty which includes 8.1 million working age adults 4.2 million children and 2.1 million pensioners what's worse due to to the interesting way the British economy has been managed in recent years the foundation estimates that this figure is only going to get worse in the coming years with them estimating that come the close of this year 12 million adults will live in poverty such figures are just the tip of the iceberg however as hidden within those figures according to the foundation 6 million people in so-called deep poverty which they Define as earning below 40% of the median income further still is destitution defined as a state in which one is not able to meet their most basic physical needs to stay warm dry clean and fed currently in the UK by Foundation figures 3.8 million people including a million children live in that state given this many pundits in both the UK and abroad and we suspect many of you in the audience now question how the hell the country can stand to put the cash up for two such expensive military toys when the home front so to speak is in such Dire Straits I mean you could feed a lot of hungry children with that money but criticism of the Queen Elizabeth class goes beyond just fiscal Prudence as there are many that argue that they aren't even that good as carriers and represent a massive waste of money regardless of the amount of starving children currently trying to survive in the land that the ships call home one major such criticism has been over a supposed vulnerability to Advanced anti-ship missiles particularly those developed and fielded by Nations such as Russia and China these missiles designed to evade radar detection and penetrate defense systems pose a significant threat the carrier's primary defense against such threats is their escort ships with onboard counter measures such as the fance close-in weapon system that we discussed earlier playing a secondary role it has no defensive missiles one problem with that approach is that the UK doesn't really have escort ships not enough anyway which has severely limited the Royal Navy's ability to deploy the carriers and do note also a modern carrier lacking ship defense missiles is not normal the Gerald R Ford for example has both ra 162 and ra16 defensive missile launching systems for handling inbound aircraft and missiles before its escorts even have to get involved and just to really drive this point home it actually isn't particularly normal for older carriers either the USS nimts commissioned all the way back in 1975 also carries ra16 Rams in addition to rim7 launchers and the Char of GA a French carrier commissioned back in 2001 which isn't even a super carrier Sports both Aster 15 and mistro missile launchers this one really is a head scratcher you got to think when everyone else is incorporating defensive missiles maybe it would be a good idea and speaking of things the UK can't afford f35s you know the plane that is meant to fly off the carriers bear in mind as we discussed earlier each carrier can take 36 of them in total if they really squeeze them in the Royal Navy surely must have acquired at least 72 of them in the last 17 years since the carrier's construction was announced right well let's answer that by playing a little game take a moment to think and have a guess at how many you think they've got got a number in your head well good we can reveal that the UK currently has 30 f-35s 30 it's not even enough to fully stock a single carrier to its absolute maximum and it's just enough to fill a single carrier to its nominal complement bear in mind too we said the UK has 30 f-35s not the Royal Navy this wasn't a slip of the tongue on our part that's how many the whole country has so that number is also shared with the RAF and we mean literally shared as the ministry of Defense regularly swaps its f-35s around between branches depending on which one is most dire need so bad is the F-35 situation in fact that on every deployment that Queen Elizabeth has been on the Americans had to lend some of theirs just to be able to put it to C with even a minimum compliments this sounds pretty ridiculous doesn't it I mean how could a major developed military power blunder so catastrophically well at least there's precedent because regular viewers of this channel will be aware of how uh uniquely terrible the UK has always been when it comes to matters of military procurement after all this is the nation that willingly destroyed a top-of-the-line indigenous Fighter the tsr2 just to get allegedly scammed by General Dynamics for a deal on f-111s that was too good to be true they set their troops into Iraq in functionally unarmored Land Rovers and issued a helmet the Mark 6 that prevented its wearer from aiming their rifle while prone if they happen to be wearing body the UK really does not have a good track record with this stuff and look while we're on the topic of things the Queen Elizabeth class should have but doesn't let's talk about catapults the decision to completely forego catapults of either the traditional steam variety or the newer electromagnetic sort was influenced by one thing and one thing alone and you know exactly what that issue was because this is British military procurement we're talking about it's money instead the Queen Elizabeth class uses a good old-fashioned ski bear in mind too steam catapults aren't exactly an alien technology to Britain they have been using the technology since 1953 when they first fitted one to the HMS percus the absence of catapults on these carriers is a major limitation this isn't like a nuclear verses turbine propulsion with merits both ways depending on how you look at it no not having catapults is an objective detriment without catapults carriers are severely limited on the types of planes they can carry in the payloads of the planes that they can can launch a prime example of this the f-35c the proper vertical takeoff capable F35 that also has a greater fuel capacity combat radius and payload capacity than the f35b that the Royal Navy ended up with well they could have had that instead but alas using that variant really means you have to have a counter ball to use it to its maximum potential so no didn't work well but at least you know they saved a few quid there are plans a foot to retrofit the Queen Elizabeth class with catapults however which the Navy wanted from day one and that is basically British military procurement a person with loads of medals wants a thing politician says it's too expensive and they'll go for the other thing instead the aformentioned metal aaden person points out why the other thing is stupid and won't work the politician says we're doing it anyway and then it inly turns out to be so the ministry of Defense then spends more money correcting the problem than if they' just done it correctly the first time around and then there are the reliability issues worst plagued by these by far is Prince of Wales in August 2022 she experienced issues related to starboard propeller shaft which halted its intended voyage across the Atlantic for exercises off the US Eastern Seaboard then in February 2024 when she was due to head off and replace her sister an exercise steadfast Defender a large NATO exercise her departure was delayed by almost a week due to reasons that we've yet to be informed about these are just two examples a freedom information request released by the ministry of Defense reveals that she has spent a total of 33% of her commissioned time in Portsmouth undergoing maintenance we know that aircraft carrier is are just a tad complicated and so require a bit more maintenance than a Toyota Corolla but I mean 33% of the time for real but while the Prince of Wales has been the most unreliable of the Class by far Queen Elizabeth hasn't exactly been without mechanical Gremlins either as she encountered a mechanical issue just days before her scheduled departure for a high-profile NATO exercise in February 2024 due to problems with a shaft coupling on the starboard propeller shaft [Music] so then are there many arguments against the Queen Elizabeth class enough to Warrant their daming or does the Strategic utility they provide despite these issues means that they were still a smart use of British taxpayer money well we don't know yet but with time we'll find out

Channel: Megaprojects

Views: 414,887

Keywords: hms queen elizabeth aircraft carrier, hms queen elizabeth aircraft carrier documentary, hms queen elizabeth carrier, hms queen elizabeth modern warship, hms queen elizabeth carrier documentary, largest aircraft carrier, wolrd largest aircraft carrier, british aircraft carrier, super aircraft carrier, hms queen elizabeth suez, biggest aircraft carrier

Id: EWZPJK91X1I

Length: 19min 2sec (1142 seconds)

Published: Wed Mar 27 2024