The review identifies hypersonic missiles and nuclear-powered cruise missiles as challenges to existing defences and strategic stability. Hypersonic development had appeared in defence discussion for nearly two decades, so the criticism concerns delayed decisions over how to prepare for it. Recognition of the threat had not produced adequate equipment in service. The review also discusses military-civil fusion, using civilian innovation to strengthen military capabilities. British examples from the Napoleonic Wars and both world wars, together with France in the First World War, show that this method has a long history. The review also uses Libya and Nagorno-Karabakh to illustrate relatively inexpensive capabilities challenging sophisticated military systems. Its interpretation of Libya is disputed here, while the Nagorno-Karabakh comparison is treated as more plausible.
Notable Point · 2:35:13-2:36:54
Hypersonic missiles were a known procurement problem
Britain's vulnerability to hypersonic weapons reflected delayed decisions rather than a threat that appeared without notice.