Sorry ORAc - you posted an article from the Thin pinstriped line - its always a good read but has nowhere near the influence of a half page in the centre of the Times.
I agree that Hastings has an overinflated idea of himself but some of his points are reasonable - its not JUST about the tilt to the Pacific
"All procurement suffers from the political imperative to buy British. The three big national players — Rolls Royce, BAE and Babcock — share poor records of delivery. Many of the parts for the new Challenger 3 tanks are being purchased from Germany’s Rheinmetall. The French-owned Thales in Belfast makes the anti-tank weapons that have been shipped in such quantity to Ukraine."