Navy sources claim the future of the HMS Prince of Wales is under threat (Picture: Getty)
The ‘cash-strapped’ Royal Navy could be forced to sell the HMS Prince of Wales aircraft carrier, sources have claimed.
Senior figures within the Navy have spoken out after next week’s Budget revealed there won’t be a significant rise in defence spending this year.
In a move dubbed a ‘HS2 moment’ for the Navy, sources fear the HMS Prince of Wales, which cost £3.5 billion to build, could either be mothballed or sold off to a friendly nation at a knockdown price.
The decision could be forced upon commanders as soon as 2028 if defence finances aren’t improved soon.
A naval source told MailOnline the nightmare scenario of selling a carrier to spare funds had been discussed by members of the Maritime Enterprise Planning Group, which looks at future considerations and strategies.
He said: ‘There’s an awareness in the group that the Navy is struggling to maintain operational commitments and has to expand the fleet as rapidly as possible.
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HMS Prince of Wales leaving Portsmouth Harbour (Picture: Chris Gorman/Big Ladder/Getty Images)
The huge aircraft carrier takes 700 crew to operate (Picture: UK MOD Crown copyright)
‘The second carrier is an asset that is held in reserve and is a very expensive piece of rarely-used equipment.
‘So if we want to address balance sheet issues, disposing of her or sharing her with say an AUKUS [Australia, UK and US] ally, is an option.’
Official sources said while the Navy remained committed to both carriers, ‘changes in government and budgets’ may alter this assessment.
Ministers have told top brass they must ‘spend better’ to convince the treasury to increase funding.
Retired Royal Navy Commander Tom Sharpe said: ‘If I was a carrier-sceptic, and there are plenty, I would be gunning for one of them right now.
‘It does not help their cause that when a near-perfect opportunity to use a carrier presented itself in the Red Sea, we didn’t take it for political reasons.
‘We must recognise the threat to the second carrier, that is the unpleasant reality; the nuclear deterrent is the UK’s only ring-fenced capability.’
The carriers were approved in 2007 by then prime minister Gordon Brown. One of them was almost scrapped before it even set sail, but ministers discovered axing it would actually be more expensive.
HMS Prince of Wales and HMS Queen Elizabeth cost a combined £7 billion. Today it is widely accepted the UK will not be able to adequately defend or operate them independently.
The service only has one solid stores ship, the RFA Fort Victoria, to support the carriers and she is due to be retired in 2028.
The 65,000-ton aircraft carriers and their strike groups have previously relied on protection from allies including the Netherlands and the US.
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Almost 700 crew are needed to operate one – a drain on the force at a time of recruitment and retention issues.
A Royal Navy spokesman said: ‘These claims are categorically incorrect, we are fully committed to operating both HMS Queen Elizabeth and HMS Prince of Wales.’
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