British Royal Navy may need to borrow warplanes from Washington

By Sun Wei in London

Britain could be forced to "borrow" US warplanes for its new aircraft carriers due to a squeeze on the Ministry of Defence (MOE) budget, the Telegraph reported Wednesday.

To ensure the two new aircraft carriers are built, naval chiefs are considering making sacrifices, including giving up their amphibious task force of landing ships and commandos, and retiring UK's 45 Harrier jump jets ahead of schedule.

The Harriers could be retired earlier than 2018. That in turn could mean that the first carrier enters service in 2014 with no British aircraft to carry.

"It's very much a speculation," Beth Cowley, the MOE press officer, told the Global Times, adding that the MOE is in the process of a strategic defense and security review (SDSR). "We don't know what decisions will be made until the end of October," she added.

"If the Harrier fleet is retired, I don't think this effects the legitimacy of the Royal Navy's carrier program," said Craig Caffrey, a senior analyst on defense procurement with IHS Jane's.

"Over the last few years there have frequently been periods where the UK's carriers have not had fixed-wing aircraft embarked upon them due to commitments in Afghanistan. At times this has meant that the Royal Navy has embarked US (as well as Italian and Spanish) Harriers in order to retain the skills required to operate aircraft from a carrier," Craig said. "Borrowing US aircraft later would likely be based on a similar arrangement."

"Such a situation is clearly not ideal, but this is likely to be how the UK would try to deal with any gap in its carrier-strike capabilities," he added.

Reuters suggested that there is a possibility that the MOD will scrap the budget of the two new aircraft carriers to provide cash for smaller vessels.

However, "the carrier requirement is set to be a cornerstone of the SDSR, as it is of fundamental importance to UK defense policy for the future," Craig said, adding that there are other more important issues that will determine whether the carriers remain part of the navy's plans.