LONDON, July 3 (UPI) -- The British Ministry of Defense has finalized contract talks worth nearly $6.4 billion aimed at constructing larger aircraft carriers, top officials say.
Defense Secretary Des Browne said the new defense contracts to build carriers which can support up to 40 aircraft would allow Britain to improve both its military and humanitarian operations worldwide, the BBC said Thursday.
The first advanced carrier model, Her Majesty's Ship Queen Elizabeth, should be in full service by 2014 and be followed by a similar carrier in 2016.
The contracts for the advanced maritime vessels will create or secure 6,200 jobs in Britain and Scotland, Browne said.
Yet defense analyst Andrew Brookes has opposed the new contracts, alleging the British government simply does not have the available funding for such a major military upgrade.
"We can't afford the cost of the aircraft carriers, the cost of the Joint Strike fighters to go on them, and all the replenishment, escort and protecting vessels," he told the BBC.
"We can't afford that without a major increase in funding which I can't see coming."
