From New Wars:
The troubled plan for the Royal Navy to deploy two new jump-jet carriers, the largest warships that nation has ever built, may have reached another roadblock. Because of the Obama Administration’s plan to scrap the second Joint Strike Fighter engine for the V/STOL version, rumor has it that the British may decide to go conventional after all and forgo the ski jump for catapults. We see more costs, and more delays. From the Telegraph:
The move, welcomed by many defence analysts and the Royal Navy, will mean that the MoD has wasted £500 million of taxpayers’ money paid to Rolls Royce to develop the highly complex engine to allow vertical take-off similar to the Harrier jump jet…The decision will also have a significant impact on relations with Washington because it will increase the price of the 350 US Marine Corps jump-jet fighters that have been ordered, forcing the US military to ask for money from Congress.
The about-turn will also mean that the first of two 65,000 tonne carriers under construction, HMS Queen Elizabeth, will have to be redesigned with cost penalties. It is possible the recent £1 billion rise to £5 billion for the carriers might by partly attributable to the change of plan.
Read more ....
Update: Another CVF Change of Plan Rumor -- Information Dissemination
My Comment: In the week that rumors of money being wasted by the U.K. Ministry of Defense are being reported by the British press .... we now have the above story.
As I had mentioned in an earlier post yesterday, this is probably the tip of the iceberg.