Broadly yes, much of the underspend is from DE&S but at the same time they've had £000M dumped on them IY to spend, which is unachievable, plus yes, in some areas they've not delivered. Not as bad as it sounds but still food for the GOCO or DE&S+ arguments.
I honestly don't get what FAAFN is driving at - must be having a thick moment
What I'm implying is government/party decisions are being driven by public opinion today, with the weak state of the two main parties they are desperate to try & win votes by doing what the public want & not what's the best political/military decision.
Both the main parties have less credence in the public's eye then estate agents & their core supporters/financiers are leaving in droves, the press are continuing to highlight all their private & public failings & calling their core supporters "bigots" Gorden Brown, "swivel eyed loons" Cameron, only goes to confirm just how much they are out of step with the masses.
They are also up against a very large switched on group of "seniors" who turn out & vote & who have little interest in "over the horizon issues" such as Trident replacement at £40b or the F35B, they want their money spent on elderly care, hospitals & grand-children's school/tuition fees, & hold the view that if "Johnny foreigner" still wants to go round killing each other, so be it, also they don't want troops/equipment in dockyards/barracks/air bases doing very little, they want police/fire/paramedics units on the streets for their money.
We have two carriers being built that the contract has been twice reviewed & if possible they would have been stopped, the F35B project is now in doubt & it looks likely that if Obama gets his way on his welfare bill they could be shelved to help pay for it, we have already seen the X43 & the F16 pilot-less & it's rumored that the F22 is being fitted out for testing, non of which can be used on the new carriers, so I can see them being sold on to whoever operates the harrier still.
The money going into the exchequer is falling fast due to tax avoidance/the black economy & the public now want to see real VFM for the masses from governments.
Finally as I have said there is no cohesion between the parties on any of the defense issues, both are running scared of the voting masses whose voices are being expressed very loudly & clearly by the likes of Farage, Clarkson & the unions, I don't see any end to the military spending reduction for many a year, you only have to look at the reaction of companies like Westland, BAES & Quinetic to see which way the wind is blowing, they are all looking to get out of defense as their main market & into the civilian world.
It really is a case for the MOD/military of welcome to the real world.
These of course are only my personal opinions on the matter.:salute: