Capability Development Plan (CDP)

Capability Development Plan (CDP)
Name	Capability Development Plan (CDP)
Type	Policy document
Jurisdiction	United Kingdom Ministry of Defence
Introduced	2004
Superseded by	Strategic Defence and Security Review

Contents

Capability Development Plan (CDP) The Capability Development Plan (CDP) is a strategic planning instrument used to identify, prioritize, and sequence capability requirements. It links long-term forecasts with procurement, research, and force design to guide investment decisions across departments such as the Ministry of Defence (United Kingdom), Department for International Development, Cabinet Office (United Kingdom), and allied institutions like the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, the European Defence Agency, and the United States Department of Defense.

Definition and Purpose

The CDP defines required capabilities to meet national strategic objectives set by bodies including the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, the National Security Council (United Kingdom), the Defence Secretary, the Chief of the Defence Staff, and the Chief Scientific Adviser to the UK Government; it aligns those needs with funding cycles overseen by the Treasury (United Kingdom), the Public Accounts Committee, the Parliament of the United Kingdom, and the House of Commons Defence Committee. The plan’s purpose is to translate strategic reviews such as the 2003 Defence White Paper, the Strategic Defence Review (1998), the Strategic Defence and Security Review 2010, and the National Security Strategy (United Kingdom) into prioritized programs for acquisition offices like Defence Equipment and Support and partner agencies including the Royal Navy, the British Army, and the Royal Air Force.

Typical CDP components include capability assessments, threat and risk appraisals, capability delivery roadmaps, and investment portfolios tied to programs managed by entities like Babcock International, BAE Systems, Rolls-Royce Holdings plc, and QinetiQ. Structural elements map to domains represented in doctrines such as those from the UK Strategic Command, Joint Forces Command (UK), and alliance doctrine from NATO Allied Command Transformation, and they integrate specialist input from institutions like Defence Science and Technology Laboratory, Royal United Services Institute, Chatham House, and the Rand Corporation.

The process synthesizes strategic guidance from documents authored by offices such as the Prime Minister's Office (10 Downing Street), analytical models from RAND Corporation, capability frameworks used by NATO Defence Planning Process, and assessment techniques from research bodies like Imperial College London, King's College London, and University of Oxford. Methodologies employ scenario analysis referencing historical campaigns like the Falklands War, the Gulf War, and the War in Afghanistan (2001–2021), risk management approaches informed by ISO 31000 practitioners, and economic appraisal methods applied by the Office for Budget Responsibility and the Institute for Fiscal Studies.

Governance assigns responsibilities to ministerial offices including the Secretary of State for Defence, senior military leadership such as the Chief of the General Staff, procurement authorities like Defence Equipment and Support, and scrutiny bodies including the National Audit Office and the Public Accounts Committee. External stakeholders such as defence industry firms (BAE Systems, Thales Group, Airbus), research organisations (Old Royal Naval College, University of Cambridge), and international partners (United States Department of Defense, NATO) participate through formal advisory mechanisms and contracting arrangements overseen by legal frameworks originating in instruments like the Public Contracts Regulations 2015.

Implementation coordinates procurement pipelines, research and development investments, and force generation cycles linking programmes managed by Defence Equipment and Support with fleet plans from the Royal Navy, brigade structures from the British Army, and air capabilities from the Royal Air Force. Integration emphasizes interoperability standards defined by NATO Standardization Office, supply chain resilience involving firms such as Rolls-Royce Holdings plc and BAE Systems, and industrial strategies aligned with policies from the Department for Business and Trade and recommendations from the Crown Commercial Service.

Evaluation relies on performance metrics reported to oversight bodies like the National Audit Office, periodic reviews by cabinets such as the National Security Council (United Kingdom), and independent analysis from think tanks including the Royal United Services Institute, Chatham House, and the International Institute for Strategic Studies. Review cycles incorporate lessons from inquiries such as the Iraq Inquiry (Chilcot Inquiry), defense reviews like the Strategic Defence and Security Review 2015, and audit findings published by the Comptroller and Auditor General.

Applications of a CDP-style instrument are evident in national programmes such as the Future Combat Air System initiatives, naval procurement exemplified by the Type 45 destroyer programme and the Queen Elizabeth-class aircraft carrier project, land capability projects like the Ajax (AFV) family, and air capability investments including the F-35 Lightning II acquisition. Internationally, analogous planning frameworks appear in United States Department of Defense capability documents, NATO Defence Planning Process outputs, and capability roadmaps developed by the European Defence Agency.

Category:Defence planning