The Naval Defence Act makes second-class cruisers the fleet's mass

The Apollo program formed part of Britain's attempt to preserve naval primacy while France, Russia, Italy, Japan, and later Germany expanded their fleets. Arms procurement cannot stop rivals from buying weapons, so its deterrent value must be judged through the diplomatic behavior that follows. Britain's economic and geopolitical position also depended on being perceived as the pre-eminent naval power, which gave a decision not to build its own strategic cost. Within the act's shipbuilding total, the twenty-nine second-class cruisers formed the numerical core of a force intended for global employment.