Future
The Sea Harrier was officially retired on 1 April 2006. The principal weapon of the Invincible-class carriers then became the Harrier GR9 flown by two Fleet Air Arm and two RAF squadrons until they were retired in 2010. Since then they have only operated helicopters.
Invincible was decommissioned in July 2005, and was mothballed until September 2010. She was put up for sale in November 2010. In early February 2011 it was announced that she had been sold to a Turkish scrapyard, Leyal Ship Recycling; Leyal has been involved in the scrapping of various Royal Navy ships, including HMS Cardiff, HMS Newcastle, HMS Glasgow and RFA Oakleaf. Invincible left Portsmouth under tow for scrapping on 24 March 2011.
Ark Royal took over as the flagship, was planned to be decommissioned in 2016, but retired in 2010 following the Strategic Defence and Security Review.
Illustrious remains the only one of the class in service but will also retire once HMS Ocean comes out of its next refit in 2014.
Two much larger Queen Elizabeth-class aircraft carriers are being built, and are expected to enter service in 2016 and 2018 under present plans. They are expected to displace around 65,000 tonnes each - more than three times the displacement of the Invincible class.
Read more about this topic: Invincible Class Aircraft Carriers
Famous quotes containing the word future:
“We live in an age when to be young and to be indifferent can be no longer synonymous. We must prepare for the coming hour. The claims of the Future are represented by suffering millions; and the Youth of a Nation are the trustees of Posterity.”
—Benjamin Disraeli (1804–1881)
“It is marvelous indeed to watch on television the rings of Saturn close; and to speculate on what we may yet find at galaxy’s edge. But in the process, we have lost the human element; not to mention the high hope of those quaint days when flight would create “one world.” Instead of one world, we have “star wars,” and a future in which dumb dented human toys will drift mindlessly about the cosmos long after our small planet’s dead.”
—Gore Vidal (b. 1925)
“Common sense should tell us that reading is the ultimate weapon—destroying ignorance, poverty and despair before they can destroy us. A nation that doesn’t read much doesn’t know much. And a nation that doesn’t know much is more likely to make poor choices in the home, the marketplace, the jury box and the voting booth...The challenge, therefore, is to convince future generations of children that carrying a book is more rewarding than carrying guns.”
—Jim Trelease (20th century)