Recently, the news that Britain wants the aircraft carrier "Prince of Wales" has shocked everyone. In the eyes of many people, aircraft carriers represent a country's strategic deterrence, Britain has only 2 aircraft carriers in total, sell one, the other is completely insufficient, you have to repair and maintain, only one you don't even have a replacement. The deterrent effect is greatly reduced, but Britain seems to be a little determined to sell an aircraft carrier, because it is really overwhelmed.
First, many people think that the UK is the sixth largest economy in the world, with a GDP of more than 3 trillion US dollars, and it should be more than enough to raise 2 aircraft carriers, so how can it not afford it?
The reason for this is not complicated, that is, although the UK is a developed country, money is useful. It is very difficult to move at all, so good steel is used on the blade, but unfortunately for the British, the aircraft carrier is not a "blade" and can only be chopped.
It's like if you look at the US GDP of 27379 trillion US dollars, you said that the United States took out 500 billion US dollars to support Ukraine is enough for Russia to drink a pot, but the problem is not to mention 500 billion US dollars, 50 billion US dollars have to be argued.
Second, the deterrent power of aircraft carriers does not lie in the aircraft carrier itself, but in the overall combat capability of the aircraft carrier battle group.
1 aircraft carrier, you have to be equipped with the corresponding carrier-based aircraft, frigates, etc., some people have calculated that the cost of a complete aircraft carrier battle group in the United States needs 35 billion US dollars. Due to the low cost of manufacturing in China, the cost of an aircraft carrier battle group also needs 120 billion yuan. According to the level and cost of manufacturing in the UK, it is expected to be between $30 billion and $40 billion.
The normal annual operating and maintenance costs are billions of dollars. The UK's annual defense spending is $65.7 billion, and two aircraft carrier battle groups account for too much of it.
Third, the level of shipbuilding in the United Kingdom has declined sharply, not to mention the United Kingdom, the market share of the entire European shipbuilding industry in the world is only 5%, which leads to the fact that both production capacity and industrial chain are far from East Asia, and technology is also increasingly opened.
Since the delivery of the two British aircraft carriers, there have been many accidents, and the Prince of Wales began to leak after five months of service. Later, various problems continued, and the maintenance cost was a sky-high price. So the combat capability is really very doubtful.
Fourth, it is the UK's aircraft carrier needs, which are used for ocean-going operations, which can be said to be a long-range offensive platform. And Britain's national strength is in a period of strategic contraction, so aircraft carriers are a bit chicken for Britain, and 2 aircraft carriers are purely redundant.
For weak opponents, aircraft carriers are not needed. For a real opponent in the eyes of the British, 2 aircraft carriers are simply not enough. And Britain does not have the strength to expand, so the aircraft carrier has basically become an ornament, but it has to spend a lot of money every year to maintain, so it is a good thing for Britain to sell one.