So saith the admiral commanding Britain's Royal Navy: "If we had a carrier, we'd be there [Libya]" in greater force. Technically, Britain does have a carrier, HMS Illustrious, but there are no aircraft in any of Britain's armed forces that can be flown off it.
Britannica rules the waves? No longer, no.
To be fair, though, if Qaddafi holds out until 2020, The Royal Navy will be able to kick his tail. The toothless Illustrious is due to leave service in 2016. It's replacement, Queen Elizabeth, will not enter service until 2020 at the earliest. QE and its later sister ship, Prince of Wales, however, will be super carriers rivaling the US Navy's and will be the largest warships ever for the Royal Navy. Curiously, both predecessor ships of the same names were battleships sunk in World War II.
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