James Sunderland calls for a defence operational capability audit to ensure the military is procuring sufficient basic logistics needed to support the unique advanced high-tech specialist weapons it is procuring.
James Sunderland (Bracknell) (Con)
The pursuit of exquisite exclusivity in defence procurement is to be lauded, but can the Minister confirm that his Department is also focused on procuring the logistic platforms that we need to sustain it? Is it perhaps time for a defence operational capability audit to look into that key capability gap?
The Minister for Defence Procurement (James Cartlidge)
My hon. Friend makes an excellent point—of course, he speaks with great experience. As we have been stressing, the whole point of acquisition reform is, instead of seeking exquisite platforms, to go for 80% to get them into service faster and then to have spiral development. We think that that is the future of procurement.