For the first time since the aircraft carrier was invented the Royal Navy has none. As was found out in the defence of Crete during the Second World War a fleet without air support are sitting ducks, so this means that until the two carriers that have been ordered arrive, and the air groups to go on them, the Royal Navy will only be able to operate with either a allied fleet with carriers, or under the protection of RAF aircraft flying from a land airbase. This could mean that for the first time ever the Royal Navy is reliant for protection on the French.
However the scraping of the current carriers is definitely going ahead and their air groups went years ago. Tenders have even gone out asking for bids as to what to do with the Ark Royal. The tender document makes clear that they should not go to another fleet, and one option is to sink it to produce an artificial reef as a dive site off the Devon coast.
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