A module inventory offers a possible response to Treasury rules that do not let the navy retain underspent funds. The Royal Navy could seek an annual allocation for modules and hold it through the year to cover emergencies. If the money remained available at year end, it could order more modules and enlarge the fleet's pool. Funds could also upgrade existing units, while older modules could be sold to allies newly entering StanFlex. This arrangement could make continuing procurement fit the navy's funding pattern. The argument depends on hindsight: planners in the 1980s did not know how dramatically funding would change in the 1990s.
Notable Point · 55:48-57:18
Using an annual module budget as an emergency reserve
An annual module allocation could cover emergencies during the year, then buy or upgrade reusable equipment if the money remained available.