The Royal Navy was promoted into the maritime superleague yesterday when ministers signed the long-awaited contract for two 65,000-tonne aircraft carriers.

They will be the second biggest of their kind in the world, each the size of the QE2. Only the American Nimitz Class aircraft carriers, at 90,000 tonnes, have a more impressive tonnage.

The Ministry of Defence went ahead despite a stretched defence budget and murmurings about the near £4 billion price tag and the wisdom of building such huge warships.

Admiral Sir Jonathon Band, the First Sea Lord and Chief of the Naval Staff, said the signing - on board HMS Ark Royal, one of the existing, much smaller carriers - was “a proud moment for the Royal Navy and a proud moment for Britain”.

Standing on the flight deck of Ark Royal, moored in Portsmouth dock, Admiral Band said that a navy was defined by its “big-ticket” items such as carriers, amphibious vessels and submarines, “not by minesweepers”.

He insisted that the carriers were not just for the Navy but would benefit all the Armed Forces, and all his fellow Service chiefs had agreed that the two warships were necessary, despite the cost. “We’re as one,” he said.

Andrew Brookes, of the International Institute for Strategic Studies, cast doubt on the carrier project, saying that the concept of expeditionary warfare upon which the programme was based was out of date. “I can’t see a prime minister sending a carrier off on some expeditionary operation,” he said. “We should reevaluate the whole idea. The French did and they have decided that rather than have two carriers, they should focus more on acquiring landing rights in the Indian Ocean.

“Of course we don’t know what the future holds but I can see far more use for additional frigates and transport aircraft and helicopters in the years ahead than two giant carriers.”

In an apparent sign of a tacit deal between Service chiefs, Admiral Band said that he had given his personal support to the Army’s demand for a new generation of armoured vehicles, which will cost about £14 billion.

The RAF, which wants more Eurofighter Typhoons and a Super Lynx helicopter, also has his support.

The MoD is carrying out a comprehensive review of all medium and long-term equipment programmes. The only exception is the carriers, which are now sacrosanct.

To keep within the budget limits, cuts and delays in other projects are now seen as inevitable, opening the way for some bitter in-fighting between the Services.

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