Will the next British carriers still operate crewed aircraft?

Will the Queen Elizabeth class be the Royal Navy's last carriers to operate crewed aircraft?

Probably not: the forecast favours mixed crewed and uncrewed aviation, with transport roles, morale, and communications infrastructure all limiting a complete transition.

Crewed aircraft are unlikely to disappear completely before successors to the Queen Elizabeth class arrive. Routine transport and helicopter-like passenger roles are expected to retain crews, even if some special-forces or casualty-extraction missions accept uncrewed aircraft. Troops entering danger could find it harder to trust a pilot who remained safely elsewhere. Remote operations also depend on communications infrastructure, including satellite links, for which investment is judged inadequate. Greater use of uncrewed aircraft and partnerships with crewed aircraft is still expected. This forecast assumes the existing carriers remain in service until at least 2050 and probably towards 2060.