国际英语新闻：Head of British armed forces to retire early over Afghan war

A public debate between the three service chiefs -- from the navy, the army and the air force -- has seen all of them attempting to present their service as essential to future defense and foreign policy.

But several expensive and prestigious programs are likely to be ended or radically changed.

Areas under review include new armored vehicles for the army, the air force's fast jet fleet, and the navy's two planned new aircraft carriers which are currently under construction.

However, the current format of Britain's strategic nuclear weapons force, which is based around a fleet of four nuclear-powered submarines, is likely to remain the same.

Dr Fox said in a TV interview on Sunday, "It may be the case that there are some functions we need less of and some we need more of, so it's very unlikely that any of the services will look exactly the same after the review.

"If you have a review, you don't simply say 'I am going to rule X, Y or Z out in advance'. The exception to that has been the nuclear deterrent because we believe the threat is so great that we can't drop the deterrent.

"I am not saying that I have got any pre-conceived idea about the size and shape of the forces. We can't surely be saying that we keep the shape and size of our armed forces exactly the same forever. We have to change in the light of the threats the country faces."