Why Royal Navy strategy still needs national direction

What is the Royal Navy's future outlook as it adapts to new twenty-first-century threats?

Its strategy and programme have a rationale, but they need clearer decisions and national policy from government.

In this 2023 assessment, the Royal Navy has a credible strategy and a rationale for its programme. Clearer decisions and national policy are still needed from government. Castex's treatment of the relationship between policy and strategy provides the comparison. The service's plans depend on the direction set above it.