This electronic thesis or dissertation has been downloaded from the King’s Research Portal at https://kclpure.kcl.ac.uk/portal/ Assessing the British Carrier Debate and the Role of Maritime Strategy Bosbotinis, James Awarding institution: King's College London The copyright of this thesis rests with the author and no quotation from it or information derived from it may be published without proper acknowledgement. END USER LICENCE AGREEMENT Unless another licence is stated on the immediately following page this work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International licence. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/ You are free to copy, distribute and transmit the work Under the following conditions: Attribution: You must attribute the work in the manner specified by the author (but not in any way that suggests that they endorse you or your use of the work). Non Commercial: You may not use this work for commercial purposes. No Derivative Works - You may not alter, transform, or build upon this work. Any of these conditions can be waived if you receive permission from the author. Your fair dealings and other rights are in no way affected by the above. Take down policy If you believe that this document breaches copyright please contact [email protected] providing details, and we will remove access to the work immediately and investigate your claim. Download date: 27. Sep. 2021 Assessing the British Carrier Debate and the Role of Maritime Strategy James Bosbotinis PhD in Defence Studies 2014 1 Abstract This thesis explores the connection between seapower, maritime strategy and national policy, and assesses the utility of a potential Maritime Strategy for Britain. Underpinning the analysis, and providing the skein of connecting thought throughout the thesis, is the question: what is the strategic utility of maritime forces? Specifically, the thesis first examines the development of maritime theory and its translation into practice within the context of contemporary British maritime thinking and doctrine. In order to do this, the thesis examines the development of the British maritime school of thought, focusing on its leading figures and core tenets and the extent to which such thinking is reflected in contemporary doctrine. The thesis proceeds to examine, as a case study, the debate on the rationale for, and design, development and procurement of, Britain’s future aircraft carrier capability in order to shed light on British thinking on the role and utility of maritime strategy. The analysis especially considers the debate on the configuration of aircraft carrier to be developed and the commensurate variant of aircraft to be acquired (that is, principally short take-off and vertical landing or catapult-assisted take-off but arrested recovery). This debate extends beyond a consideration of naval factors and considers wider military and national policy (notably military-industrial) factors. Proceeding from this, the thesis examines potential alternatives to a traditionally conceived aircraft carrier, including missile-armed surface and sub-surface naval forces and land-based aviation. The purpose of this is to shed further light on the utility of aircraft carriers relative to other options and assess their value to British maritime strategy and national policy. The thesis concludes with an assessment of the implications of the aircraft carrier debate for British defence and national policy and examines the rationale for, and implications of a Maritime Strategy for Britain. 2 Contents Abstract 2 Acknowledgments 4 Introduction 5 1. Defining the Context: Seapower, Maritime Strategy and National Policy 20 2. The Development of Contemporary British Maritime Thinking and Doctrine: An Overview 58 3. The Rationale for the Future Aircraft Carrier Programme 97 4. The Future Aircraft Carrier Programme: Design, Development and Debate 129 5. The Future Aircraft Carrier Programme and British Strategy: An Examination of Potential Alternatives 164 6. The Future Aircraft Carrier Programme and British Maritime Strategy 195 Conclusion 237 Glossary of Abbreviations 251 Bibliography 255 3 Acknowledgments I would like to particularly thank Dr Tim Benbow for his guidance and assistance through the course of researching and writing the thesis. I would also like to thank Professor Andrew Lambert for his advice and guidance. I must also thank all those who have generously given their time and expertise to assist with my research: Admiral Sir Jonathon Band, Admiral Sir Nigel Essenhigh, Admiral Sir Mark Stanhope, Air Chief Marshal Sir Peter Squire, Vice Admiral Sir Jeremy Blackham, Rear Admiral Tom Cunningham, Rear Admiral Nigel Guild, Air Vice- Marshal Michael Harwood, Mr Ben Palmer, Commodore Steve Jermy, Commodore Jock Alexander, Captain Dickie Payne, Commander James Hayle, Commander Jonathan Worthington, Professor Eric Grove, Professor Greg Kennedy, Professor Philip Sabin, Professor Geoffrey Till, Dr Harry Dickinson and Dr Christina Goulter. I would also like to thank those who have given their time and insight but wished to remain anonymous. Particular thanks are also owed to Commander Henry Mitchell for his insight and assistance. I must also thank my mother, in particular for her diligent proof reading. 4 Introduction Research Concept This thesis examines the connection between seapower, maritime strategy and national policy, and assesses the utility of a maritime strategy for Britain. Underpinning the analysis, and providing the skein of connecting thought throughout the thesis, is the question: what is the strategic utility of maritime forces? Specifically, the thesis first examines the development of maritime theory and its translation into practice within the context of contemporary British maritime thinking and doctrine. In order to do this, the thesis examines the development of the British maritime school of thought, focusing on its leading figures and core tenets and the extent to which such thinking is reflected in contemporary doctrine. The thesis proceeds to examine, as a case study, the debate on the rationale for, and design, development and procurement of, Britain’s future aircraft carrier capability in order to shed light on British thinking on the role and utility of maritime strategy. This debate extends beyond a consideration of naval factors and considers wider military and national policy (notably military-industrial) factors. Proceeding from this, the thesis examines potential alternatives to a traditionally conceived aircraft carrier, including missile-armed surface and sub-surface naval forces and land-based aviation, in order evaluate the utility of aircraft carriers relative to other options and assess their value to British maritime strategy and national policy. The thesis concludes with an assessment of the implications of the aircraft carrier debate for British defence and national policy and examines the rationale for, and implications of a Maritime Strategy for Britain. The central question for the thesis is: What light does the debate on the development and procurement of the future aircraft carriers shed on contemporary British thinking on the nature and utility of maritime strategy? This question provides the central aim of the thesis. That is, to evaluate the debate on the design, development and procurement of the future aircraft carriers within the context of a discussion of contemporary British maritime thinking and doctrine, in order to assess the nature and utility of British maritime strategy. The future aircraft carrier 5 programme is one of the Ministry of Defence’s principal investment projects and thus provides a significant case study for the examination of what Britain views as the primary roles for maritime power; how maritime power can be utilised; and why maritime power is valuable both in a defence and wider grand strategic setting. In order to answer the central question, the thesis examines the following secondary questions: How does the debate in the literature on the nature of seapower and maritime strategy shed light on the utility of maritime forces? What is the connection between seapower, maritime strategy and national policy? What was the rationale for developing the future aircraft carriers? What need are they seen as meeting? Has this remained consistent or has it changed in response to evolving strategic circumstances? What was the debate concerning the procurement of (a) any aircraft carriers, (b) aircraft carriers of this specific design? What was the case for and against? What alternatives were considered? What alternatives could or should have been considered? Finally, what options / variations of maritime strategy are possible? How do they reflect British maritime thinking and thinking on, and options for, national policy? Research Method and Design The research is principally based on secondary literature and interviews with key individuals. The secondary literature is subject to a qualitative content analysis and thematic analysis for its review. This approach focuses on the analysis and interpretation of key concepts and themes in the surveyed literature. 1 This literature covers three strands; the first relating to maritime strategy, seapower and national policy; the second, contemporary British maritime thinking and doctrine; and the third, the debate on the future aircraft carriers. The first strand of literature is analysed using a deductive approach (analysing the meanings of concepts and theories) as the first