Article Summary and Key Points: The British Royal Navy’s HMS Prince of Wales aircraft carrier faces an uncertain future due to persistent mechanical failures and budget constraints. Since commissioning in 2019, the vessel has suffered repeated malfunctions, including major flooding, shaft misalignment, and structural damage, leading to extensive repairs.
Key Point #1 – The Royal Navy is considering selling the carrier to a friendly nation or sharing it within AUKUS to ease financial pressures.
Key Point #2 – While the carrier plays a vital role in the UK’s defense strategy, concerns over its reliability and rising maintenance costs raise questions about whether it will remain operational or be decommissioned by 2028.
2 Words: Big Problems
HMS Prince of Wales: A Costly Aircraft Carrier with an Uncertain Future
The British Royal Navy’s HMS Prince of Wales aircraft carrier is no stranger to controversy, given the problems that occurred after the Royal Navy took delivery of the vessel.
British media outlets reported last year that the Navy might have no choice but to decommission or sell the 65,000-ton aircraft carrier.
The reason is that His Majesty’s Government might have to sell the vessel to friendly nations to address a critical shortfall in the UK’s defense budget. Sources within the Royal Navy have stated a decision on whether to bring the vessel up to operational status or to sell the HMS Prince of Wales should be made by 2028.
The difficulty is that with the many pressures placed on the UK’s defense budget in the present day, some advocate selling the vessel to cover those same budgetary shortfalls.
Selling the ship has been proposed by a special organization within the Royal Navy called the Maritime Enterprise Planning Group. The group’s mission is to develop future naval planning and strategy.
“There is an acknowledgment within the Maritime Enterprise Planning Group that the Navy is struggling to maintain its operational commitments. The second British aircraft carrier is an expensive asset and equipment seldom used.
“Therefore, if we wish to address the financial issue of the armed forces, disposing of [the aircraft carrier] or sharing it with AUKUS countries [Australia, United States] is an option [for sale],” said a spokesman for the group.
The Aircraft Carrier’s Woes
The carrier is designed for a crew of 1,600 and is equipped to operate a carrier air wing of up to 36 F-35B, the Vertical Short Take-off and Landing version of the fighter aircraft designed to replace the Royal Navy’s fleet of Sea Harriers.
The carrier fulfills an important operational requirement within the UK armed forces. Still, after more than five years of service, the Prince of Wales has experienced more than its fair share of malfunctions after being commissioned into service with the Royal Navy in 2019.
In 2020, the ship was stranded in Portsmouth after water flooded into its engine room, which caused damage to the ship’s electrical systems.
The number of malfunctions and other flaws caused so many problems within the first two years of service that the aircraft carrier spent only about 90 days at sea. Even then, the crew detected leaks twice within five months.
Later, in 2022, the ship endured malfunctions while preparing to sail to the United States. In the process, the vessel suffered damage while off the coast of southern England, which was not long after departing from the Royal Navy’s base in Portsmouth.
Reports were that the carrier was forced to anchor just after departure from Portsmouth due to a coupling that had failed on her starboard shaft. This caused serious damage to the shaft and propeller, with additional structural damage to the rudder.
Prince of Wales Aircraft Carrier: Rushed Into Service
Repair costs for the ship had soon mushroomed to an estimated £20 million from an initial estimate of £3 million. Once the ship was pulled into dry dock at Rosyth, Scotland in October 2022, a subsequent inspection revealed similar issues with the port shaft as well.
The Royal Navy then decided to overhaul the port shaft as a precautionary measure, which further delayed the ship’s return to service due to a delay in receiving the needed spare parts to complete that repair.
These reports then prompted accusations that the carrier’s delivery may have been rushed into service for political purposes. Allegedly, there may have been problems within the Royal Navy, such as problems with the shafts, which had been known for some time.
Britain’s newest aircraft carrier, Prince of Wales.
The same reports document that issues with the shafts were known but that it was decided to take delivery despite the potential for failure. These reports say the carrier’s problems stem from a misalignment of the shafts during construction.
The issue, say shipbuilders who speak with 19FortyFive, is that just who would be interested in this vessel as an acquisition. The problems with the shipyard and construction of the vessel are now being exposed, which bodes ill for the continuation of the Prince of Wales sister ship in service.
HMS Prince of Wales and HMS Queen Elizabeth pictured at sea for the first time…Wednesday 19 May 2021 saw a historic moment in Britain’s carrier renaissance as HMS Queen Elizabeth and HMS Prince of Wales met at sea for the first time. With two 65,000 tonne carriers in operational service, Britain has a continuous carrier strike capability, with one vessel always ready to respond to global events at short notice. Image: Creative Commons.
About the Author: Reuben F. Johnson
Reuben F. Johnson is a survivor of the February 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine and is now an Expert on Foreign Military Affairs with the Fundacja im. Kazimierza Pułaskiego in Warsaw. He has been a consultant to the Pentagon, several NATO governments and the Australian government in the fields of defense technology and weapon systems design. Over the past 30 years he has resided in and reported from Russia, Ukraine, Poland, Brazil, the People’s Republic of China and Australia.
