Despite the anticipation of tough Treasury sanctions on defence spending, the outcome of the UK's Strategic Defence and Security Review (SDSR) has been met with widespread consternation. Many consider the prospect of building a large aircraft carrier that will never fly fixed-wing aircraft, along with heavy cuts that target the Royal Navy in particular, to be too much and led more by budgetary constraints than strategic outlook. Much of the backlash has been directed at a decision to gap the navy's carrier strike capability with the impromptu withdrawal of HMS Ark Royal and the Harrier force.
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