Frequent Failures and Regular Outings: The UK Aircraft Carrier is in Trouble Again

Recently, the British aircraft carrier HMS Prince of Wales, after participating in the 10-day NATO exercise "Dynamic Mongoose-2026," was found to have a "minor technical issue" while docked in the southwestern Norwegian city of Stavanger. Although the UK Ministry of Defence attempted to downplay the impact of this incident, stating that the carrier is expected to set sail in the coming days, there are still doubts about the reliability of this carrier, which has faced numerous problems since its commissioning.

Frequent Carrier Failures

File photo: HMS Prince of Wales of the Royal Navy

Since its maiden voyage, HMS Prince of Wales has encountered a series of issues, such as water ingress in the engine room and a broken propeller shaft coupling. Some media reports suggest that this latest failure may be related to the propeller shaft. Military observer Cui Yiliang believes that the recurring problems with the propeller shafts of HMS Prince of Wales and its sister ship HMS Queen Elizabeth are not inherent design flaws but rather deficiencies in the construction process.

Cui Yiliang:

The drive shafts of the two Queen Elizabeth-class carriers are nearly 100 meters long, connecting the propellers to the power system, with a rotational speed of up to 150 revolutions per minute, and the propellers weigh about 33 tons, which places extremely stringent requirements on the installation precision of the drive shafts.

For example, in August 2022, while en route to a joint military exercise with the US and Canada, the starboard propeller shaft of HMS Prince of Wales unexpectedly broke and was removed, with repair time exceeding six months. During the maintenance process, technicians also discovered that the port propeller was not aligned properly during installation. Additionally, both carriers have experienced issues with their propeller shaft couplings. Therefore, it would not be surprising if the shaft system of HMS Prince of Wales fails again this time.

Decline of the Defense Industry

File photo: HMS Dragon, a Type 45 destroyer of the Royal Navy

Cui Yiliang analyzes that the two carriers, which the UK invested heavily in, have continuously exposed reliability shortcomings, and other major combat vessels have also faced frequent accidents, reflecting a serious hollowing out of the UK's defense industrial chain.

Cui Yiliang:

First, even if the current UK civilian shipbuilding industry is combined with the military shipbuilding industry, its global market share is so low that it can be considered negligible.

Second, during the Cold War, the UK downgraded its aircraft carrier development from large fleet carriers to light carriers, and by the time it began constructing the Queen Elizabeth-class carriers, it had already lost its touch.

Third, aside from aircraft carriers, other UK vessels are also plagued with problems. For instance, the six Type 45 destroyers frequently experience collective "breakdowns," and the newly developed Type 26 and Type 31 frigates have also faced delivery delays, while the latest Tide-class supply ship is being built by a South Korean shipyard.

Naval Power Insufficient

File photo: An F-35B fighter jet of the Royal Navy taking off from HMS Prince of Wales (Source: China Defense News)

In recent years, the UK has continuously pushed its aircraft carriers to conduct so-called cruise activities in overseas regions and participate in NATO joint military exercises, attempting to showcase its global maritime presence through its carriers. Cui Yiliang believes that the frequent failures indicate that the UK's naval power is unable to support its return to the era of the "Empire on which the sun never sets."

Cui Yiliang:

Despite the frequent failures of the UK’s Queen Elizabeth-class carriers, they remain important maritime platforms relied upon by the UK and NATO. These two carriers are currently the UK's available means for power projection in distant seas, and many maritime operations under the NATO framework also use these two carriers as flagships.

However, the problem lies in the UK's defense industrial capabilities "holding it back." If this issue is not resolved soon, the means for the UK and NATO to engage in distant seas will become increasingly limited.

Reporter: Hu Chengcheng