Once a very large British carrier is redesigned around catapults, nuclear power becomes a serious alternative rather than a marginal option. The resulting gain in endurance and operational signalling would represent a marked rise in capability. Governments avoided that debate partly because of what such a ship would communicate about strategic ambition, although the signal might be useful in a post-Brexit setting. Nuclear propulsion would not free the entire strike group from fuel logistics because conventionally powered escorts would still need replenishment every few days. Nuclear surface-ship training would also have to draw heavily on the Royal Navy's submarine nuclear establishment, making personnel capacity another constraint on the choice.
Notable Point · 2:07:44-2:08:35
The political threshold for nuclear British carriers
Making the Queen Elizabeth design catapult-capable would reopen the larger question of nuclear propulsion and Britain's intended global role.