HMS Queen Elizabeth Aircraft Carrier Build (Final Assembly)
Rosyth Dockyard, Fife, Scotland, UK (final assembly) · 2009–2014 (construction), 2017 (sea trials) · £6.1bn (programme cost for two carriers), £3bn (unit cost for HMS Queen Elizabeth)
The judgement call
Account-gated at launchThe modular construction approach, with sections built across different UK shipyards, was a key strategy to distribute work and leverage national shipbuilding capabilities. - The project faced significant cost increases and delays, highlighting the inherent challenges in large-scale, cutting-edge naval procurement. - The carrier provides a four-acre military operating base deployable worldwide, significantly enhancing the UK's global power projection capabilities. - Lessons learned from HMS Queen Elizabeth's construction and initial operations have informed subsequent naval projects and maintenance strategies.
Key engineering challenges
Managing the complex logistics of constructing large sections of the carrier at multiple shipyards across the UK and transporting them to Rosyth for final assembly. - Integrating numerous complex systems, including propulsion, power generation, and aircraft handling equipment, into a single vessel. - Overcoming technical issues and ensuring the structural integrity and operational capability of the largest warships ever built for the Royal Navy. - Coordinating a vast workforce and supply chain across the entire project lifecycle.
Project facts
- Client / owner
- Royal Navy, Ministry of Defence
- Lead contractor
- Aircraft Carrier Alliance (a partnership between BAE Systems, Babcock, Thales, and the Ministry of Defence)
- Lead designers
- BAE Systems, Thales
- Project type
- new build (vessel/fleet programme)
- Scale
- 65,000-tonne aircraft carrier; 280m long; assembled from 52 blocks constructed at six different shipyards across the UK.
- Disciplines
- Naval Architecture; Marine Engineering; Systems Engineering; Electrical Engineering; Mechanical Engineering; Defence Engineering; Shipbuilding
- Standards & frameworks
- Royal Navy standards, UK Ministry of Defence procurement regulations, international shipbuilding standards.
Sources: Wikipedia: Queen Elizabeth-class aircraft carrier (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Queen_Elizabeth-class_aircraft_carrier) - BAE Systems: FINAL HULL SECTION OF HMS QUEEN ELIZABETH SETS SAIL FOR ROSYTH (https://www.baesystems.com/en-uk/article/final-hull-section-of-hms-queen-elizabeth-sets-sail-for-rosyth) - Ingenia: Building Britain's biggest warships (https://www.ingenia.org.uk/articles/building-britains-biggest-warships/) - BBC News: The true cost of aircraft carrier HMS Queen Elizabeth (https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-28153569) - Royal Navy: HMS Queen Elizabeth (R08) (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HMS_Queen_Elizabeth_(R08))