Carrier Costs Rise By £ 217 – so said the headline – this increase has occurred in the past 12 months as reported by the National Audit Office – this rise in the cost of the Royal Navy’s future carrier programme is attributed to industry better understanding the risks involved in completing the two Carriers.     Both will also enter service later than planned and when ordered in 2008, the price tag for the two carriers was £3.5bn - the figure now stands at £5.3bn.

The National Audit Office looked at sixteen (16) major MoD projects, including:-

–       ASTUTE Fleet Submarines – good news some £ 62m has been saved on this programme

–       QUEEN ELIABETH Aircraft Carriers – see above

–       Type 45 Destroyers – more good news as £ 108m has been saved on this programme

–       LYNX WILDCAT – the cost of introducing the airframe to both the Fleet Air Arm and Army Air Corps will cost an extra £19m and is running about seven months behind schedule