The strategic plans of the Spanish Navy are based on the National Defence Directive (NDD) signed by the President of the Government in June 2020. A subsequent Defence Policy Directive was then approved by the Minister of Defence. These serve to guide the Concept of Employment of the Armed Forces (CEFAS-21). The earlier 2003 Strategic Defence Review identified six capabilities as critical to the navy. These included: a "Projection Capability" and three subordinate capabilities. Additionally, the protection of national maritime interests at sea and contributing to early warning were identified to round out the strategic planning framework. The core element has been the "Projection Capability" which was deemed to necessitate platforms that included: a command and control ship, amphibious shipping, an aircraft carrier, platforms with land-attack capabilities and a strategic projection ship. The protection and logistical support capabilities necessitate ships with surface-to-air, surface-to-surface and ASW capabilities while the logistic support capabilities require vessels capable of sustaining task forces on deployment.