Recommendation 19

The MoD said that it tries to publish as much of its defence pipeline as it can to build supplier confidence.57 However, its failure to provide budgets that match ambition, such as the £5.9 billion funding shortfall in the shipbuilding pipeline, risks undermining suppliers’ confidence to invest in their capacity.58 Furthermore, the MoD’s focus on not committing to contracts for new projects—only about 25% of its 10-year budget is committed—might undermine its attempts to build supplier confidence.59 Delivering equipment programmes