Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what is the maximum operating weight of a fixed-wing aircraft that can be launched and recovered from a Queen Elizabeth Class aircraft carrier without the use of Assisted Launch and Recovery Equipment.

The Queen Elizabeth Class aircraft carriers are configured to operate Short Take-Off and Vertical Landing aircraft and helicopters and do not have catapults or arrestor gear for conventional fixed-wing operations. The fixed-wing aircraft operated is the F-35B Lightning.