GCAP is the program's name, Tempest is the plane's name
GCAP is the program's name, Tempest is the plane's name
PPT work is a valid part of national GDP.
On DIP-related matters, the Defence Secretary has resigned today as the draft he was given on Monday "falls well short of what is required for defence and the country at this dangerous time" - the committed bump to defence spending would've been up to 2.68% of GDP in 2030, when the UK is on track for 2.6% in 2027.
For those who don't follow British politics, Healey is one of Starmer's key allies in government. For him to exit in this manner (loudly and not mincing words) is very damning of the DIP in its current form.
For those who don't follow British politics, Healey is one of Starmer's key allies in government. For him to exit in this manner (loudly and not mincing words) is very damning of the DIP in its current form.
Chickens are very definitely coming home to roost for UK defence after decades of underinvestment and woeful project management by MoD (of which Ajax is just the latest example). Neither the Army nor the RN is a credible fighting force ATM, RAF could put up a few dozen Typhoons and maybe ~20 operational F35B but that's about it.
Lethe
Captain
Obviously this is a much broader story, but the optics of this for AUKUS are terrible, particularly coming on the heels of the recent UK House of Commons Defence Committee that highlighted the delivery risks for SSN-AUKUS.
I mean, this was less than two weeks ago at the AUKUS Defence Ministers' meeting in Singapore!
(The guy in the middle is Richard Marles, Australia's current Deputy Prime Minister and also Minister for Defence.)
It's just a game of Hot Potato. None of these people were ever serious. It's just blame shifting.
The core tension is that the ambitions of the UK military and what it purports itself to aspire to, is completely at odds with its actual meagre resources and industrial base.