French fighter jets used by American and British aircraft carriers that the Navy cut the Armed Forces

Dr Fox said it was important "maximum flexibility" to have said U.S. and French aircraft would offer a new possibility. "


Under the strategic defense and security review, the Navy supports the reduction of costs: it five warships and 4,000 staff will lose it, Harrier jump jets will be deleted, and the flagship aircraft carrier HMS Ark Royal, will be removed immediately.

The first of two new carriers will enter service in 2016, but will be configured to transport helicopters - not jets - before being put on hold indefinitely, or sold by the second carrier in service.

But even when the second carrier arrives, the only aircraft capable of being able to use it will be American or French, with a striking new Joint Strike Fighter due in service until 2020.

This means that the British Navy aircraft are aircraft carriers for about 10 years, foreign pilots to fly foreign planes will be essential to the protection of Great Britain. But even that may not be able to come from the British aircraft carrier until 2016 at the earliest.


Dr Fox said there will be increased cooperation with the French to the president, Nicolas Sarkozy, recently decided to "engage more closely with NATO."

He insisted that he was not unprecedented for Britain aircraft carriers without aircraft, referring to a period during the 1970s and said that a "very limited" ability was fast jets from carriers in Afghanistan between 2004 and 2009 to fly .

"The concept of carrier strike is just one way we have air power projection. We Tornado, Typhoon and we have the military point of view now is that because we are not at the moment trouble bases or overflight and Great Britain in a position to force the Air project in this sense, he said today program on BBC Radio 4.

"The question is, can we ensure that, for 20 to 30 years, and of course we can not, therefore we will invest in new media."

The Daily Telegraph reported today that ministers are to announce that one of the Navy's new £ 3000000000 aircraft carrier aircraft and will never be gone for only three years before he stopped being sold.

The Prime Minister will have a schedule later today under which HMS Ark Royal is retired. another Navy carrier, HMS Illustrious, will continue to function only as a platform helicopter private jet before retiring in 2014.

The first of these new carriers, HMS Queen Elizabeth, will enter service in 2016, designed to carry helicopters, jets do not. The new second carrier, HMS Prince of Wales, will come in 2019. At that time, the HMS Queen Elizabeth in "extended readiness", effective sleep indefinitely.