Building Queen Elizabeth-class carriers for catapult aircraft from the outset

How much more would Queen Elizabeth-class carriers have cost if designed for catapult aircraft from the beginning?

Probably not dramatically more than the real programme once delay costs are considered, but a later conversion would be exceptionally expensive because the necessary systems must be retrofitted.

The planned French PA2 relationship already pointed toward a somewhat longer conventional carrier variant with greater electrical demand. If Britain had selected CATOBAR from the start, the ships might have cost little more than the historical programme, which paid yards enough through delay to equal roughly 3.2 carriers while accepting only two. A late conversion was different because heavy power conduits, launch gear, and spaces occupied by other systems would have to be opened and rearranged. CATOBAR would launch heavier aircraft loads, but the arresting and catapult stresses also require stronger airframes and consume fatigue life. The exchange therefore treats configuration timing, not just the price of catapults, as the central cost question.