The UK's credibility with its allies has been undermined by repeated delays in publishing a long-awaited defence investment plan, according to a parliamentary watchdog.
The Public Accounts Committee (PAC) said the hold-up in releasing the Defence Investment Plan (DIP) will make procuring new equipment more expensive and hamper efforts to modernise the armed forces.
The DIP was originally due in autumn but is now expected to be published ahead of a NATO summit early next month.
Sir Geoffrey Clifton-Brown, the PAC chair, said the nation has now "gone years without a credible plan for UK military capability".
"Excuses to the effect of 'taking time to get the details right' simply do not cut it," he said. "Ministers should simply apologise instead of defending the delay."
A Ministry of Defence spokesperson responded that the DIP will "fix the outdated, overcommitted and underfunded programme we inherited" and that work is ongoing to finalise it.
The committee also flagged concerns about ongoing issues with the Ajax armoured vehicle, where 33 soldiers have been affected by noise and vibration problems, and called for more transparency over nuclear spending, which now consumes 18% of the defence budget and is set to rise to 25%.