You are absolutely right. That is what concerns me. The time to talk about smart defence is now. As you said, procurement contracts are just getting under way. We have not yet signed any major contracts for the fleet or the F-35s. Right now, we are thinking about acquiring new army equipment, but the real investment has not started flowing yet. Things are still at the program stage and have not yet progressed to actual procurement.
If ever there was a time to have this discussion, it is now. As you said, we must do it before we start signing contracts that entail cancellation penalties. Now and over the next few years is when these discussions need to take place, while our allies are talking, while NATO is examining what exactly it wants to do and while the U.S. is considering a reduction in defence spending, as are Great Britain and our other allies.
We think of ourselves as a multilateral country with global reach. Should we not, therefore, talk to our allies and partners about our defence policy?