Editing Queen Elizabeth-class aircraft carrier (section)

===Design studies===
Initial [[Ministry of Defence (United Kingdom)|Ministry of Defence]] (MoD) design studies for what was then the ''Invincible'' class replacement were conducted in the mid-1990s.<ref name=eandg>Eddison, J.F.P., Groom, J.P., 'Innovation in the CV(F) - An Aircraft Carrier for the 21st Century', in ''RINA Warship '97 Conference ('Air Power at Sea')'', Royal Institution of Naval Architects (RINA), 1997</ref> Options considered at this early stage included the possibilities of lengthening the hulls and extending the life of the existing ''Invincible'' class ships, converting commercial ships to carriers, and the construction of purpose-built new aircraft carriers.<ref name=eandg /><ref name=mcr>Campbell-Roddis, M.E., 'Hullform & Hydrodynamic Considerations in the Design of the UK Future Aircraft Carrier (CVF)', in ''RINA Transactions Part A4 2017'', Royal Institution of Naval Architects, December 2017</ref>

On 25 January 1999, six companies were invited to tender for the assessment phase of the project&nbsp;– [[Boeing]], [[British Aerospace]] (BAe), [[Lockheed Martin]], [[Marconi Electronic Systems]], [[Raytheon]] and [[Thomson-CSF]].<ref>{{cite news |first=Alexander |last=Nicoll |title=US companies bid for $2.5bn ships deal |work=Financial Times |date = 26 January 1999}}</ref> On 23 November 1999, the MoD awarded detailed assessment studies to two consortia, one led by BAe (renamed [[BAE Systems]] on 30 November 1999) and one led by Thomson-CSF (renamed [[Thales Group]] in 2000). The brief required up to six designs from each consortium with air-groups of thirty to forty [[Joint Combat Aircraft|Future Joint Combat Aircraft]] (FJCA). The contracts were split into phases; the first £5.9&nbsp;million phase was for design assessment which would form part of the aircraft selection, while the second £23.5&nbsp;million phase involved "risk reduction on the preferred carrier design option".<ref>{{cite news|title=Shipyard in running for Navy contract |work=The Belfast Telegraph|date=24 November 1999}}</ref>

In 2005 [[BMT Group|BMT]] announced it had tested 4 different CVF hull form models and assessed them for propulsion efficiency, maneuverability, seakeeping and noise signatures. It also investigated skeg length, rudder size, transom stern flaps and bulbous bow designs. 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.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.navylookout.com/development-of-the-queen-elizabeth-class-aircraft-carrier-a-design-history/|title=Development of the Queen Elizabeth class aircraft carrier – a design history|publisher=navylookout.com|date=2 October 2018|access-date=19 May 2022}}</ref>