Germany planned naval expenditure carefully because fleet growth competed with the army for funding. That constraint helps explain why the army, rather than the navy, initially received German Zeppelins. Britain, meanwhile, tried to stay ahead of American, Italian, and Japanese experiments, forcing Germany to respond to increasingly expensive British designs. Technological competition therefore became a procurement problem, since innovation in one navy could disrupt another state's budget strategy.
Notable Point · 23:11-24:11
German budgets chase British innovation
Germany's structured naval spending repeatedly had to absorb the cost of British designs developed in response to American, Italian, and Japanese innovation.