Sea Dart as a substitute for Exocet

Was Sea Dart's surface-to-surface capability the real reason early Type 42 destroyers did not receive Exocet?

Sea Dart did offer some anti-surface capability, but the claim also served as a convenient justification for avoiding the cost of a dedicated missile fit.

Sea Dart could engage surface targets, so the stated justification had a real technical basis. That secondary capability also offered a convenient explanation for omitting Exocet. In the cost-cutting environment of the 1970s and 1980s, an existing weapon could be presented as adequate while dedicated anti-ship missile spending was avoided. The capability of a system and the procurement reason emphasized in public were therefore related without being identical.