Queen Elizabeth and Prince of Wales are individually more capable than the Invincible-class carriers, Ocean, and Argus they followed, but two hulls cannot match five hulls for geographic coverage or resilience. The proposed force has two strike-focused carriers plus two or preferably three amphibious-focused LHDs with some overlapping aviation capability. The carriers could support limited amphibious tasks while the LHDs could operate limited F-35B or uncrewed strike elements. Uncrewed aircraft also offer a way to fill out carrier air groups when Britain cannot buy enough F-35Bs for two naval groups and the Royal Air Force's land-based commitments.
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A carrier and LHD mix for British aviation depth
Replacing five aviation ships with two highly capable carriers reduced availability, leading to a proposal for complementary LHDs that can support amphibious operations and limited strike aviation.