Defence review 'could be reopened' Mr Thompson told the Public Accounts Committee that the MoD has based its decade-long plan for the Armed Forces on the assumption that its budget for equipment will rise in real terms in 2015/16 and the following years. The official told the MPs that if the equipment budget does not rise in 2015/16, the department would have to reconsider the SDSR, which set out the blueprint for Britain's Armed Forces. "That is a risk, that funding would be reduced, in which case we would have to re-evaluate our plan," Mr Thompson said. If that were to happen, depending on what the reduction was, we would want to revisit the SDSR to see what the policy outcomes were. He also said that the MoD has a written agreement with the Treasury that the non-equipment part of the defence budget will rise in line with inflation from 2015/16. However, he admitted that as George Osborne, the Chancellor, seeks further cuts in overall public spending, that agreement may not be honoured. That remains a risk, given the state of the public finances. That is to be renegotiated in the Spending Review," he said. We will have to curtail our plans if funding is reduced. The SDSR imposed a number of cuts on the Armed Forces, leaving the Navy without an aircraft carrier until 2016. The review also announced that the new carrier will be equipped with catapult-launched F35 Joint Strike Fighters, rather than the "jump jet" version chosen by the previous Labour government. Ministers argued that the carrier variant was a more capable aircraft and would made it easier to work with other navies. But the Coalition last year changed its mind and reverted to the jump jet variant of the F35. The Commons Defence Committee today condemns the "closed, rushed and flawed decision of 2010." It is clear that the decision was rushed and based upon incomplete and inaccurate policy development. It was taken without the MoD understanding how the change could be implemented," the committee said. The committee also complained that the lack of a proper strategy for maintaining its defence industry, something that could put the UK at a disadvantage compared with competitor countries. "We do not understand how we can have confidence in a national security strategy which does not show a clear grasp of what is needed for the defence of the United Kingdom, and how this can be ensured," the defence committee said.