Recommendation 27

We were also concerned that the Department had not found a solution for other unfunded supporting capabilities since our 2018 report. For example, a Maritime Intra- Theatre Lift capability is crucial for moving spares (including Lightning II parts), people and, potentially, high-value assets around the fleet and to shore. The Department’s plans to develop a dedicated long-term capability have been limited by funding constraints and lack of data on what support a carrier group will need. The Department admitted it requires a long-term solution and anticipates that this will be an un-crewed autonomous system of some form. However, it is unlikely to provide this in the next 10 to 15 years. The Department told us that for the foreseeable future, therefore, it must rely on its interim solution, using Merlin Mark 4 helicopters. It assured us that this provides an adequate capability to operate the carriers. However, this solution relies on competing for spare capacity on helicopters which have other roles and restricts Carrier Strike’s ability to operate where required because of the helicopters’ limited range.55 55 Q 58; C&AG’s Report, para. 2.14 16 Delivering carrier strike