Investment During the COIN Era

Lt Cdr White suggests that successive Defence Reviews failed to invest adequately in sea control capabilities during the COIN era. I would argue the opposite. While resources were constrained, strategic investment in blue water deployable capabilities continued, driven by naval leaders who I believe fully grasped what is required to operate in a ‘grey zone’ global environment. For example, in 2011, in the middle of the Iraq and Afghanistan campaigns, Admiral Stanhope, then First Sea Lord, announced the intention to replace the Type 23 frigates with a new vessel that was to be called the ‘Globa…