To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what contingency plans his Department has should the Royal Navy require two aircraft carriers for an operation whilst one is out of service for maintenance purposes once the future aircraft carriers have entered service. (94915)

The Defence requirement is for an aircraft carrier to be available at high readiness for operations throughout the year. The acquisition of two ships will ensure this requirement is met and will also allow for essential training and maintenance to be carried out. The second carrier will also be able to fulfil the Landing Platform Helicopter (LPH) role when the dedicated LPH ship, currently HMS Ocean, is unavailable.