The British Navy lost its only aircraft carrier. The flagship of the Royal Navy, Ark Royal, was decided to be written off as part of a program to curtail military spending.
Earlier it was assumed that the ship would be removed from combat duty in 2014, but this will happen much earlier - "almost immediately", according to the BBC. This means that the British will not have an aircraft carrier for 10 years, since new 3D ships of this class have not yet been built.
The United Kingdom authorities are planning massive cuts in defense spending as part of a new military doctrine, which is due for the first revision in 12 years. As part of the program to reduce costs for the needs of the armed forces during the program, about 7 thousand servicemen will be dismissed from the army, and civilian personnel of the British Ministry of Defense are also expected to be dismissed. A reduction is also expected in the fleet of the United Kingdom Fleet Air Force, this applies to units equipped with vertical takeoff and landing aircraft of the Sea Harrier. The military budget will be "cut" by 7-8%, due to which it is planned to save 856 million euros (750 million pounds sterling).
On October 15, UK Treasury Secretary George Osborne announced that construction of two new 3D aircraft carriers - Queen Elizabeth and Prince of Wales - would continue. It is reported that at least one of them will be capable of receiving aircraft from Britain's NATO allies - France and the United States.
Ark Royal, named after the flagship of the British squadron that defeated the Spanish Invincible Armada in 1588, entered service with the Royal Navy in 1985. It was sent to the shores of Yugoslavia during the 1991-1995 civil war in that country. He also took part in the invasion of Iraq by US and British troops. Several helicopters assigned to this aircraft carrier were lost in the fighting against Saddam Hussein's army.
