There remains considerable uncertainty over the Department’s future ambitions for Carrier Strike. The government is re-assessing its defence priorities in the Integrated Review of Security, Defence, Development and Foreign Policy (the Review), which it is due to publish in November 2020. We are extremely frustrated that the government has failed on several occasions to hold a strategic spending review to address the defence budget’s unaffordability, which has resulted in a debilitating lack of clarity for the Department and its suppliers. The 2020 Review will consider the government’s ambitions for Carrier Strike, including its future role and the level of engagement with allies. The Department has confirmed that Carrier Strike remains a vital component of the UK’s military power, and that it aims to operate the carriers as a sovereign capability by 2023. It assures us that it will prioritise funding to develop Carrier Strike, but the lack of clarity on its role, level of operational readiness and flexibility affects the type of supporting capabilities that it needs, and the level of funding required. Recommendation: The Department must ensure that its ambitions for Carrier Strike are clearly articulated and understood across government as part of the Integrated Review. Once this Review is published, the Department should quickly publish its policy ambitions for the carriers and translate them into affordable plans for future investment and operation.