Whitehall at war on bill for carriers

MASSIVE new aircraft carriers ordered by Tony Blair to strengthen Britain's global role will set sail with outdated technology.

The Treasury is insisting that the two 60,000-ton craft cost no more than £3.5bn if they are to be built at all.

Civil servants at the Treasury have rejected Ministry of Defence arguments that the two carriers, due in service in 2012, should be equipped with the most advanced technology. They argue that the bill for meeting the Royal Navy's specifications would soar to about £5bn.

Sources close to the Whitehall argument said: 'The Treasury is insisting that the carriers be affordable. These ships are being built to last 50 years. It makes much more sense to build in the latest technology over time as it is proved to work rather than spend a fortune now when funds are limited.

'For example, we have perfectly good radar at the moment on our other ships. Why spend so much more on a radar that sees over the horizon when the technology is not completely proven?'

The most expensive and sophisticated part of the carriers will be the computer systems, which, in effect, allow the carriers to become the nerve centre controlling battlefields thousands of miles from Britain.

In the short term, the Navy might now be forced to accept less sophisticated carriers capable of handling 150 of the new Joint Strike Fighters.

At one stage in the battle for resources between the Treasury and the MoD, there were suggestions that the MoD might have to choose between scrapping either the orders for the carriers or for 232 Eurofighters. This is no longer an option.

The carriers are being built by a consortium of BAE Systems, Thales, Babcock and the VT Group.