Recommendation 12

However, the NAO report found that in the Plan the Department has only set aside £1.05 billion from 2026–27 to 2030–31 to exploit research to develop usable military capabilities.24 This expenditure is only 0.4% of the Plan’s total budget, although the Department believes the boundary between R&D and exploitation is blurred. The Department also agreed that the cyber threat is changing very rapidly and accepts that this makes it hard to be certain that the money in the Plan to protect against this threat will be enough.25 The Department also acknowledged that its procurement approach does not adequately reflect the notion that “if you want to do something cheaply, you need to do it quickly”.26 22 Q144 23 Q144 24 C&AG’s report, para 2.27 25 Qq 92–93 26 Q31 Ministry of Defence Equipment Plan 2021–31 11 2 The Plan’s affordability