The discussion links recent British carrier-aircraft shortfalls to a post-Cold War belief that governments could choose when to fight and therefore when to prepare. That assumption encouraged procurement plans that deferred readiness because forces supposedly had time to equip themselves before an optional intervention. China has procurement problems of its own, but this analysis does not find the same wars-of-choice doctrine. Peacetime readiness assumptions become part of assessing carrier aviation alongside aircraft performance.
Notable Point · 41:00-41:55
How the wars-of-choice assumption weakened readiness
A contrast with British carrier-aircraft procurement shows how assuming wars will be optional can encourage forces to defer readiness until a crisis is chosen.