Facts and Figures

Displacement: 65,000 tons

Length: 920ft (280m)

Beam: 230ft (70m)

Draught: 36ft (11m)

Speed: 25+ knots

Complement: 682 (up to 1,600 with embarked air group)

Propulsion: 2 x Rolls-Royce MT30 gas turbines and 4 x diesel generator sets producing a total of 110MWe 

Range: 8,000-10,000 nautical miles

Armament: Phalanx automated close-in weapons systems,
30mm guns and mini-guns to counter seaborne threats

Aircraft: Tailored air group of up to 40 aircraft: F35B Lightning II, plus Merlin and Chinook helicopters

The QE Class Aircraft Carriers will be the largest surface warships ever constructed for the UK and represent a step change in joint capability
 
56m from keel to masthead, which is four metres taller than Niagra Falls!
The distribution network on board will generate enough energy to power 300,000 kettles or 5,500 family homes (a town the size of Swindon)

1.5 million m² of paintwork, which is 370 acres or slightly more than acreage of Hyde Park
 
Each ship’s two propellers will weigh 33 tonnes each - nearly two and half times as heavy as a double decker bus and one and half times as high
 
80,000 tonnes of steel is on order for the two ships, three times that used in Wembley Stadium

Each of the two huge aircraft lifts can move two Joint Strike Fighters from the hangar to the flight deck in 60 seconds.

Each of the QE Class aircraft carriers can take up to 40 aircraft, which is double the capacity existing aircraft carrier. The Joint Combat Aircraft expected to carry at least
twice the useful payload of the Harrier.

The maximum embarked air group is up to 36 Joint Strike Fighters and four Airborne Early Warning aircraft - double the aircraft capacity of the current carriers
 
The ship's Long Range radar is the same size as a large mobile home

The anchors will be 3.1m high, each weighing 13 tonnes - almost as much as a  double decker bus Water treatment plant onboard: The ships will produce over 500 tonnes of fresh water daily

£1.2BN worth of sub contracts for work on the QE Class have now been placed with companies across most regions in the UK