CV(A)-01 sought much of the capability the proposed Malta-centred programme would have established decades earlier, when more money and political room were available. The defence settlement prioritised Britain's place on NATO's central European front and put the services into competition for funding. Clarke's criticism is that this emphasis sacrificed maritime capabilities that made Britain a distinctive contributor to the alliance. In his view, another medium-sized army contribution offered less than retaining the alliance's second-largest navy, particularly when American reinforcement depended on crossing the Atlantic.
Notable Point · 2:25:26-2:27:01
CV(A)-01 and the cost of abandoning a distinctive NATO role
The alternate carrier programme bypasses CV(A)-01 and frames the central-front defence settlement as a loss of Britain's distinctive maritime contribution to NATO.