ABSTRACT
The task of compiling the annual Defence White Paper has become more and more awkward for its unfortunate authors. The unreality of the approach to the whole problem of defence can be detected at very outset of the White Paper, whose initial paragraph affirms that the current defence review is based on a study of what we can afford to spend on defence. This chapter examines the effect of latest developments on the single Services, and how each proposes to make the most and best bricks with such a pittance of straw. As the Government White Paper, Statement on the Defence Estimates 1975 points out ‘The maritime balance has shifted and is continuing to shift markedly in favour of the Warsaw Pact. The maintenance of a full shop-window display will not convince such knowledgeable observers as our potential opponents; and when defence policy is based on a concept of deterrence, to fail to convince is to fail altogether.
