“Will QE be able to accommodate an RM Commando, the way Ocean does?”

I think yes. It should be able to embark more soldiers, actually, and more helicopters both.
vehicles are more troublesome, though. I suppose you could lift helicopter-capable light vehicles, L118 Light Guns and ammo pallets and store them along the hangar and in the depots of the weapons for the jets, but the lack of a ro-ro ramp makes embarkation and disembarkation a complex work. You’d have to crane them onto the flight deck… then they can easily move on the Aircraft Lift.
At 70 tons, the two lifts could move a Challenger II, so that is not a problem.

The british planes were part of earlier LRIP orders. The third and last was the 32° plane in LRIP 4, along with 31 US planes, so no worries at all about them. Nothing has changed.

LRIP 5 contains 4 F35A for Italy and 2 F35A for Australia, according to plan. On 9 August LM was given a contract for long lead items for 38 planes by the US Defence Department (http://www.defensenews.com/story.php?i=7343696), but of those only 32 are for the US (19 A, 6 B and 7 C).

These 32 planes make the LRIP5 of the United States. Effective amount of LRIP5, if Italy and Australia confirm the orders, will be for 38, of which 32 US, compliant to the article you linked.
If it goes down to 32 total, it is because the US are buying less planes for themselves, or because Italy and Australia withdraw/delay their own orders.

But in no way the US cuts will cancel or defer the delivery of F35s to other partner nations.
The UK still expects to meet land-ops IOC in 2018, with carrier-ops IOC in 2020.
And LRIP6 does not involve UK orders either, so the UK is unfazed by this whole matter.

I hope not, but it unfortunately may be, depending on how the contracts have been (eventually) signed.

Dunno if it would be of some use to make some limited trials with the 2 test F35B the UK is stuck with. That’s the most it would be useful for. After all, those 2 F35Bs will have to be hard-worked to demonstrate all what they can due to commonality.
The proper CV aspects, will be work for the F35C they are going to receive swapping the last F35B with the US Marines for a C.

On the Type 45, i’m pretty sure it is RAM coating, so yes: it might well be on the Type 23 as well.

Exactly. 😀
Next, i’d want more Tomahawks in stock, and VLS cells for them on Type 26 as well, to give improved land attack reach.

Thank you!

Thank you so much for the images, cockney, as always!

Would it be a problem for you if i used a couple of your photos on my Blog? I’m trying to follow the CVF story, build phase included, and an image of LB03 into the dock and one in the water would really help.

This is the page where they will end up to, if you are fine with it: http://ukarmedforcescommentary.blogspot.com/p/future-force-2020-carrier-vessel-future.html

@Bager1968

With all respect, you said me nothing that i didn’t already know. The contract is for a STUDY into the conversion. As of now, EMALS is the preferred solution, but the study will still include even the C13-2 steam catapult.
A study which won’t be over before 18 months, or end 2012, early 2013. If an order for an EMALS set was placed immediately after [and it would ONE EMALS set, but with 2 rails instead of four: EMALS is a single system, currently configured to feed 4 launch rails, as the US only use that configuration] it might well be at least 2 more years before the catapults arrived, so around 2015.

Too late for QE, i suspect.

Also, the delivery of the kit to the US Navy for Gerald Ford appears to be a first delivery of hardware, first of probably several: i’m guessing the “thousand pieces” mentioned are mostly about the under-deck power generation system and management system, with the actual catapult rails and other parts to follow later on.

My earlier conclusions already kept in count the EMALS situation and CVF conversion studies. And the premises continue to bring me to the very same conclusion.