[The] envy of armed forces throughout the world

Geoff Hoon on the new 'supercarriers'

They would replace those three existing carriers - Illustrious, Invincible and Ark Royal - by 2012.

Each of the new carriers would be able to carry 50 planes on board.

During the election campaign, a number of sceptical Conservative MPs and some former military officials suggested the entire project, first proposed in 1998, would be cut.

But Mr Hoon, addressing MPs in the Commons on Friday, confirmed the government's commitment to a number of key defence programmes, including a plan to build 30 warships in the next 15 to 20 years.

He said the new hardware would be the "envy of armed forces throughout the world".

And it gave a very different picture from that painted by recent media reports and by shadow defence secretary and Tory leadership hopeful Iain Duncan Smith, continued Mr Hoon.

Centrepiece

Mr Hoon said: "At the heart of our warship building programme are two new aircraft carriers to which this government is fully committed.

"They will be among the largest warships the Royal Navy has ever had. And they will be built here in the UK.

"With future joint combat aircraft, they will deliver a formidable force projection capability."

The planes on board the ships will be the revolutionary American-designed Joint Strike Fighter, a replacement for the ageing Sea Harrier.

Britain is to put �2.7bn towards the total �10bn cost.

The government plans to build the first carrier by 2012 and to have the second in place by 2015.

It has yet to decide which type of carrier to order but two companies - BAE Systems and Thales - are competing for contracts, says the Ministry of Defence.

Hoon unveiled the plans in the Commons

Earlier in the week, Mr Hoon reaffirmed the government's commitment to another costly programme - the supply of 25 military transport planes being built by Airbus.

But a degree of doubt still overshadows the latest project.

The future of the carriers is critically linked to that of the Joint Strike Fighter, which is potentially threatened by the Bush administration's current defence review.

If the US fighter project is axed, it will leave the Royal Navy's new carriers with not much to carry.

More details needed

For the Conservatives, Mr Duncan Smith pressed the government to reveal more details.

"They need to tell us where the money is and how much they are prepared to pledge and whether the chancellor, not a man known for his great love of the defence forces, is actually prepared to accept that these carriers should go ahead."