It will set out the Department's thinking on the challenges facing Defence - future threats, lessons learned from recent experience, including Iraq and Afghanistan, adaptation, and the emerging strategic questions which will be dealt with in the review.
It is intended to shape and inform a discussion - inside the military and the Ministry of Defence and outside - about how best to structure Defence for the threats, risks and challenges faced now and in the future.
It will not, as has been suggested by recent reporting, set out any cuts to any of the three Services.
The Green Paper is simply the first step on the road to the SDR, which will take place after the election.