Thats the whole point - a similar one as made by an ex Adrmiral a couple of weeks ago
If the money isn't there then what we've always thought of as core comptencies will be lost
Mandarins don't find the money - politicians do - I'm sure he's trying to keep as much going as possible but eventually you have to cut otherwise you can't do anything. We gave up on East of Suez, Battleships, strategic bombers and even Carriers - all for the same reason