David Cameron come pants on SDSR and the F35/P8
Interesting he's looking long term. Was even some discussion of getting P8s sooner using US airframes and RAF crews.
"I have never accepted the strategic shrinkage argument for a minute," Cameron said. "We needed to make sure we got our economy back on track but even so we have the second-largest defense budget in NATO."
The British prime minister said the SDSR "sends out a clear message that Britain is an engaged nation with global reach and global influence, not for national vanity but for reasons of clear-sighted national interest. We are a player in the world."
Cameron, speaking just after he had landed at the RAF Northholt air base just outside London, said the new SDSR showed there was going to be growth not just for the next five years but beyond that as two new Royal Navy aircraft carriers and additional F-35 strike jets for the warships come into service.
Key among the capability hikes revealed ahead of the SRSR's unveiling later Monday is a program to buy nine Boeing P-8 maritime patrol aircraft in a foreign military sales deal with the US.