Defence Secretary Ben Wallace's foreword warns against slicing away battle-proven capability on the promise of novelty and says retirements must be judged alongside their replacements. Earlier decisions in 1998, 2003, and 2010 had already constrained what this policy could achieve without substantial infrastructure investment. Infrastructure investment was still unfinished because the government had taken years to decide what to build. The Queen Elizabeth-class carriers had been planned since the 1990s, yet Britain still lacked enough F-35Bs to use their full capacity. Promising to buy more in a future Parliament therefore repeated the same accountability problem the foreword identified.
Notable Point · 2:28:29-2:30:19
The 2021 warning against retiring proven capability for promises
The 2021 foreword rejected cutting battle-proven capability for unproven novelty, but inherited infrastructure delays and aircraft shortfalls limited what that principle could recover.