All at sea! Navy’s £3.5billion flagship aircraft carrier breaks down AGAIN as ministers wrangle over boost to defence spending
Britain’s £3.5bn flagship aircraft carrier has broken down again as ministers squabble over boosting defense funding.
HMS Prince of Wales has been plagued with problems since entering service and has been forced into port in Norway for repairs, with her departure for the 250th anniversary celebrations of the US Declaration of Independence being delayed.
A senior maritime source told the Daily Mail that the ship’s final travails were “devastating for morale”.
It comes as Keir Starmer faces growing pressure to publish an overdue review into defense spending increases, due to be published next week.
However, disagreements with the Treasury over money may cause a new postponement after a year of delays.
Army chief Sir Richard Knighton warned on Thursday that we must improve our defense capabilities as Russia is ‘raising the risk’ and there are ‘risks of crossing the line’.
On Thursday Sir Keir promised that the long-delayed Defense Investment Plan (DIP) will finally be published next month; He revealed that British intelligence believes Russia could attack a NATO country by the end of the decade.
He told LBC: ‘We have to be ready and I’ve always argued that deterrence is the best way to prevent war, but to deter you have to be ready and that’s what that means.
HMS Prince of Wales breaks down as ministers squabble over boosting defense funding
‘Our intelligence and the intelligence of other countries is that Russia may attack NATO as early as 2030; so we need to be ready.’
Sir Keir said it was his ‘first duty’ to ensure the country could defend itself against attack.
He warned that spending cuts in other areas may also be necessary to finance defense spending.
Ministers were warned of a £28bn black hole in defense spending plans, but the Treasury deemed it unaffordable. Chancellor Rachel Reeves is trying to reduce the £18bn settlement figure to £15bn.
But despite the looming deadline, many government sources said funding for the package had still not been agreed upon.
Air Chief Marshal Sir Richard said Russia was “probing, challenging and testing our defences” through “cyber attacks or technology smuggling and reckless sabotage and assassination attempts”.
The Chief of Staff said: ‘In my 35-year career, this is the most dangerous period I have known.
As a result, it is important that we, together with our allies, increase the capacity and readiness of our Armed Forces to deter our enemies from doing something stupid.’
The long-delayed Defense Investment Plan (DIP) will finally be published next month, the Prime Minister has promised
The latest dumping of Britain’s most powerful warship is the most embarrassing yet because the ship will be joining Donald Trump’s celebrations.
US President and defense secretary Pete Hegseth has in recent months derided the Royal Navy as ‘old and broken’.
Defense sources last night admitted a ‘minor technical issue’ had been identified requiring the 65,000-tonne carrier to dock in Stavanger.
The mechanical issue is understood to be related to the propeller shaft, which has been a recurring problem for the Prince of Wales and its sister ship HMS Queen Elizabeth, but this has not yet been confirmed.
According to the carrier’s description of X, engineers and logisticians were working ‘tirelessly’ to ‘provide effective maritime support’.
No details about the error detected during a vital NATO exercise in the North have been made public.
A navy source added: ‘With morale already at rock bottom due to defense spending and delays to DIP, the last thing the Royal Navy needed was HMS Prince of Wales stranded in a Norwegian fjord.
Later, to rub salt into the wounds, it becomes clear that the collapse was due to a repeat of an earlier problem.
‘The Royal Navy took responsibility for the maintenance of its carriers from manufacturers without confirming that the carriers were fully seaworthy. So every time there is a problem with the propellers the taxpayer picks up the bill.’
In 2024, HMS Queen Elizabeth withdrew from NATO exercises due to propeller problems.
In 2022, HMS Prince of Wales broke down en route to joint exercises with the US Navy and the Royal Canadian Navy and was forced to retreat to port.
The Ministry of Defense said on Thursday: ‘HMS Prince of Wales is currently undertaking a port visit to Stavanger.
‘We expect it to sail in the coming days.’
