[21] The Carrier Air Wing (CVW) will vary depending on the type and location of deployment, but will consist of 12-24 F-35Bs under in peacetime and 36 in a conflict scenario (with up to 48 in extreme cases) and Merlin helicopters to conduct Anti-Submarine Warfare, Airborne Early Warning and utility roles.

[22] The 2010 Strategic Defence and Security Review announced the intention to purchase the Lockheed Martin F-35C "carrier variant" and to build Prince of Wales in a Catapult Assisted Take-Off Barrier Arrested Recovery (CATOBAR) configuration.

In May 1997, the newly elected Labour government led by Tony Blair launched the Strategic Defence Review, which re-evaluated every weapon system, then active or in procurement, with the exception of the Eurofighter Typhoon and the Vanguard-class ballistic missile submarines.

Work will now begin to refine our requirements but present thinking suggests that they might be of the order of 30,000–40,000 tonnes and capable of deploying up to 50 aircraft, including helicopters.

[24][25] On 25 January 1999, six companies were invited to tender for the assessment phase of the project – Boeing, British Aerospace (BAe), Lockheed Martin, Marconi Electronic Systems, Raytheon and Thomson-CSF.

The basic Delta concept went through many further iterations and development before the design was considered sufficiently mature by late 2006 for detailed cost estimates to be drawn up prior to ordering long-lead items.

[36] Four months later on 30 January 2003, the Defence Secretary, Geoff Hoon, announced that the Thales Group design had won the competition but that BAE Systems would operate as prime contractor.

On 10 May 2012, the Defence Secretary, Philip Hammond, announced in Parliament that the government had decided to revert to its predecessor's plans to purchase the F-35B rather than the F-35C, and to complete both aircraft carriers with ski-jumps in the STOVL configuration.

[44] In later testimony before a parliamentary committee, Bernard Gray, Chief of Defence Materiel, revealed that even though the carriers had been sold as adaptable and easy to convert for CATOBAR, no serious effort had been made in this direction since 2002.

[47] These changes would necessitate the eventual installation of catapults, arrestor gear and an angled flight deck as previously envisioned in the 2010 Strategic Defense and Security Review with the carriers having been built for but not with this capability.

[60] The ships' only announced self-defence weapons are currently the Phalanx CIWS for airborne threats and Browning .50 caliber heavy machine guns.

The HMWHS moves palletised munitions from the magazines and weapon preparation areas, along trackways and via several lifts, forward and aft or port and starboard.

In a change from normal procedures the magazines are unmanned, the movement of pallets is controlled from a central location, and manpower is only required when munitions are being initially stored or prepared for use.

[67] Crew facilities include a cinema, five physical fitness areas (gyms),[68] a chapel[68] (with embarked naval chaplain),[69] and four galleys manned by sixty-seven catering staff.

[71] As of September 2013[update] six landing spots are planned, but the deck could be marked out for the operation of ten medium helicopters at once, allowing the lift of a company of 250 troops.

In November 2023, the General Atomics Mojave UAV successfully launched and recovered from HMS Prince of Wales, the first time a fixed wing RPAS had done so.

[41][76] On 10 May 2012 the Defence Secretary Philip Hammond announced in Parliament that the government had decided to revert to its predecessor's plans to purchase the F-35B rather than the F-35C, and to abandon the completion of Prince of Wales in a CATOBAR configuration.

As a consequence, to avoid the costly disposal at sea of both fuel and munitions, the Royal Navy is developing the Shipborne rolling vertical landing (SRVL) technique for its operation of the Lightning II.

[97] Currently, Royal Navy's Merlin Mk2 fleet is only integrated with Sting Ray lightweight torpedoes and depth charges, and both the Mk2 and Mk4 can be equipped with machine guns.

This was scheduled to be retired in the second half of 2018[107] and planning for its replacement was identified at an early stage as an integral part of the next-generation aircraft carrier.

[108] The programme became known as the "Future Organic Airborne Early Warning" (FOAEW), and contracts were placed with BAE / Northrop Grumman and Thales in April 2001.

[109] In April 2002, BAE and Northrop Grumman received a follow-on study contract for Phase II of the project, by then renamed Maritime Airborne Surveillance and Control (MASC).

[120] The Royal Navy plans to operate these UAVs in strike, electronic warfare, air-to-air refueling and airborne early warning roles, replacing some helicopter-based platforms, including Merlin Crowsnest.

The building was undertaken by four companies across seven shipyards, with final block integration and assembly at Rosyth: In December 2007, eight diesel engines and electricity generators, four for each ship, were ordered from Wärtsilä.

[130] In mid May 2008, the Treasury announced that it would be making available further funds on top of the regular defence budget, reportedly allowing the construction of the carriers to begin.

[131] This was followed, on 20 May 2008, by the government giving the "green light" for construction of the Queen Elizabeth class, stating that it was ready to sign the contracts for full production once the creation of the planned shipbuilding joint venture between BAE Systems and the VT Group had taken place.

[134] On 6 October 2008, it was announced that contracts had been placed for "the carriers' Rolls-Royce gas turbines, generators, motors, power distribution equipment, platform management systems, propellers, shafts, steering gear, rudders and stabilisers".

[140] On 16 August 2011, the 8,000-tonne Lower Block 03 of Queen Elizabeth left BAE Systems Surface Ships' Govan shipyard in Glasgow on a large ocean-going barge.

[143] The 2010 SDSR declared that the UK needed only one aircraft carrier; however, penalty clauses in the contract meant that cancelling the second vessel would be more expensive than actually building it.

[150][151][152] Prince of Wales assumed responsibility for the continuing carrier trials of the F-35B in 2019 when Queen Elizabeth entered dry-dock for her scheduled maintenance period.