Max Hastings has a well deserved reputation for writing articles with an opinion in mind, and not letting research interfere with it. His opinions seem to coincide with whoever is paying him. It would not be hard to find articles in which he seems to have expressed support for the carriers, and then a few years later he advances the opposite view. Perhaps the issue is that he opposes the defence budget being spent on non Army equipment or personnel?
As for NATO versus the Indo-Pacific, perhaps he did not read the paper?
Global Britain in a Competitive Age
Paragraph 17 of the overview
The UK is a European country with global interests, as an open economy and a maritime trading nation with a large diaspora. Our future prosperity will be enhanced by deepening our economic connections with dynamic parts of the world such as the Indo-Pacific, Africa and the Gulf, as well as trade with Europe. The precondition for Global Britain is the safety of our citizens at home and the security of the Euro-Atlantic region, where the bulk of the UK’s security focus will remain.
Paragraph 32 iii
NATO will remain the foundation of collective security in our home region of the Euro-Atlantic, where Russia remains the most acute threat to our security.
Page 6
We will continue to be the leading European Ally within NATO, bolstering the Alliance by tackling threats jointly and committing our resources to collective security in the Euro-Atlantic region.
Page 16
The precondition for Global Britain is the safety of our citizens at home and the security of the Euro-Atlantic region, where the bulk of the UK’s security focus will remain.
Page 18
NATO will remain the foundation of collective security in our home region of the Euro-Atlantic, where Russia remains the most acute threat to our security.
Page 26
The Euro-Atlantic region will remain critical to the UK’s security and prosperity; partnerships beyond the immediate European neighbourhood will also remain important. Russia will remain the most acute direct threat to the UK, and the US will continue to ask more from its allies in Europe in sharing the burden of collective security.
Page 60
Our aim is to be well-placed to take advantage of emerging markets, shifts in the global economy and global progress in S&T, and to shoulder our share of the burden in providing for stability and security at the global level as well as in the Euro-Atlantic area. This will guide the way we prioritise our diplomatic efforts, including in our tilt to the Indo-Pacific.
Page 60
The UK will be the greatest single European contributor to the security of the Euro-Atlantic area to 2030.
Page 69
We will tailor our presence and support according to the country and region, continuing to focus our security efforts primarily on the Euro-Atlantic region and providing support in Africa – in particular in East Africa and to important partners in West Africa such as Nigeria – and in the Middle East.
Page 71
The Royal Navy will remain active in the UK’s territorial sea and Exclusive Economic Zone, including by investing in new capabilities to protect undersea CNI. The Royal Air Force (RAF) will continue to provide a 24-hour quick reaction alert force to defend UK airspace and our new Poseidon maritime patrol aircraft will patrol the North Atlantic from their base at RAF Lossiemouth in Scotland.
Page 71
...a permanent maritime presence in the Atlantic and Caribbean...
Page 71
NATO is the foundation of collective security in the Euro-Atlantic area, where our commitment to Article 5 of the North Atlantic Treaty remains our most powerful deterrent. In an era of rapid developments in technology and doctrine, the Alliance must be equipped to deal with the full range of possible threats. These include long-range precision strike weapons, cyber weapons and weapons aimed at degrading spacebased infrastructure. They also include malign activity intended to test the boundary between peace and war, and our resolve in response. Russia is the most acute threat in the region and we will work with NATO Allies to ensure a united Western response, combining military, intelligence and diplomatic efforts.
Page 72
Operating across the Euro-Atlantic region, and with a focus on the northern and southern flanks of Europe, we will support collective security from the Black Sea to the High North, in the Baltics, the Balkans and the Mediterranean....
Page 72
In the Euro-Atlantic, the UK will be one of only two NATO Allies to bring to bear nuclear, offensive cyber, precision strike weapons and fifth-generation strike aircraft. We will also contribute to missile defence, to space awareness and resilience (including through a new Space Command) and to CBRN resilience. A new generation of warships will support our historic role in keeping the North Atlantic open. Our highly mobile airborne and amphibious forces will be able to reinforce Allies at short notice.
Page 74
This will involve deepening our security relationships in the wider Euro-Atlantic area, Africa and the Middle East, and with a greater emphasis on the Indo-Pacific. Through our support to others in capacity-building, we will: develop a shared understanding of the security threats we face, including through increased information-sharing; undertake joint education, training and exercises; and provide assistance and expertise in developing policy, legislation and regulatory frameworks.
Page 77
Since 1962, the UK has declared our nuclear capability to the defence of the Alliance. We will continue to do so, safeguarding European and Euro-Atlantic security. We will work with Allies to ensure that NATO’s nuclear deterrent capabilities remain safe, secure and effective, adapt to emerging challenges including the growing and diversifying nuclear threats that the Alliance may face, and contribute to the indivisible security of the Alliance.
Nor do I think that he had read this:
Fire and Ice - A New Maritime Strategy for NATO's Northern Flank
Page 39 has a vignette about the United Kingdom's aircraft carriers:
During the closing decade of the Cold War, the Royal Navy would have deployed a task group of ASW vessels led by one or two Invincible class light aircraft carriers to the GIUK-Gap to support efforts to halt Soviet submarines from transiting into the North Atlantic. Carrying Sea King ASW helicopters and Sea Harrier combat aircraft, these ships would have arrived ahead of the main US-led Carrier Striking Force to hold the line, and subsequently acted to defend the wider fleet as it advanced north.
In contrast to the Invincible class, the Queen Elizabeth class were designed with expeditionary operations in mind. As such, it was intended that they would focus on the delivery of fixed-wing offensive air power rather than ASW operations. With the return of the Russian threat, some have questioned whether these are the correct ships for the current era. But for the Royal Navy, the Queen Elizabeth class carriers are an avenue to make a major contribution to the NATO’s deterrence and defence force on its northern maritime flank, and present a number of significant advantages over their predecessors. Most notably, the air group they will carry – for wartime open-ocean operations expected to be around 24 F-35Bs and fourteen Merlin HM Mk2s helicopters for ASW and airborne early warning and control – will be far more potent than that previously available. Thus, the security of the North Atlantic SLOC could be quickly supported by a Royal Navy carrier group near the GIUK-Gap in a more robust and survivable manner during either a crisis or early in a conflict than was the case during the Cold War. Such an effort would also help mitigate the practical problem of the US now having fewer carriers and a focus on the Pacific and the Middle East, given that these issues extend the time it would take to bring US assets into theatre.
I am also certain that he did not read the Royal Navy's
Maritime Operating Concept:
Force Level Outputs - page 50
The Maritime Force will be organised around four Force Level Outputs: Homeland and Operational Advantage in the North Atlantic; Persistent Engagement; Carrier Strike; Littoral Strike
Homeland and Operational Advantage in the North Atlantic - page 52
An integrated Maritime Force, with NATO at its heart, protecting our homeland and our allies. Homeland Defence/Warfighting. Includes the attribution of CASD, Carrier Strike, and Littoral Strike capabilities (LRG(N)) to NATO as a pillar of Defence and Deterrence in the Euro Atlantic; seeks a more assertive posture which regains operational advantage.
Key outcomes:
• Protection of strategic interests and CNI, including Maritime Counter Terrorism and Maritime Security in the UK’s TTW and EEZ.
• Ensure freedom of manoeuvre in the North Atlantic.
• Maintain CASD for UK and NATO.
• Lead nation in NATO MARCOM.
Persistent Engagement - page 53
A high utility force optimised to deliver persistent global presence, with Littoral Readiness Groups at the heart. Persistent Engagement: Contingency/Persistently Engaged. Persistent deployment in strategic locations across the globe to promote UK interests, deter adversaries and prevent conflict.
• Engage, support and deepen existing alliances and partnerships whilst establishing new and enduring relationships with emerging regional powers; particularly in the Indo-Pacific region.
• Provide a global and persistent footprint and operate as Britain’s contingency force in use with ever more ships and forces deployed on an enduring basis.
• Outward manifestation of ‘Global Britain’, offering persistent presence – and influence - in areas of UK national interest.
• Preserve, promote and enforce RBIS and Freedom of Navigation and access.
• Informing governmental decision making, acting early to mitigate crises at source.
• Counter violent extremism and organised crime. • Enabling and executing Special Operations
Carrier Strike - page 54
The heart of the Maritime Force’s – and NATO’s – warfighting capability Built around the Queen Elizabeth Class Aircraft Carriers. Carrier Strike: Homeland Defence/Contingency/ Warfighting. Contribute to OANA. Through deployments to strategic locations across the globe, promote UK interests, deter adversaries and prevent conflict.
• Project decisive air power from a protected maritime task group, including gaining and retaining the necessary degree of sea control to ensure Freedom of Manoeuvre.
• Demonstrate Global Britain, with regular deployments openly demonstrating British will to engage and resolve to act.
• Contribute to UK/NATO warfighting capability, as a more lethal and more integrated Maritime Force.
• Enable and execute Special Operations
Littoral Strike - page 55
A persistently engaged and technologically enabled Commando Force capable of strike and Special Operations.
Littoral Strike: Contingency/Crisis Response/ Warfighting/Persistently Engaged. Through LRG(N) contribute to OANA. Alongside regional partners, conduct capacity building and Counter-Hostile State Actors, provide a focus for Naval Special Operations and able to respond to crises. Commando Forces apply precise effect as part of an alliance or Sovereign action. They support Theatre Access by countering defensive systems and shaping the battlespace.
• Prevail against non-traditional threats in subthreshold competition.
• An amphibious advance force able to ensure rapid entry to the fight.
• Assertively and pre-emptively shape the battlespace and strike ashore.
• Retain, at very high readiness, the capacity to act, especially in concert with PAG and in the execution of Naval Special.
• Demonstrate Global Britain, and the resolve to act.
• Maritime Forward Presence. Sea-basing, operational manoeuvre and Maritime Interdiction options.
• Special Operations and Crisis Response. Special Operations capable force elements persistently forward and engaged.
• Hybrid Warfare. Cross-government integration for complex operations.
• Shaping Operations. Commando Forces optimised to shape the battlespace for follow on forces.