[A-List] UK military: procurement problems

["Michael Keaney" <michael.keaney@xxxxxx>]

Problems dog big military projects

Richard Norton-Taylor
Wednesday December 4, 2002
The Guardian

All five of Britain's new big military projects are suffering cost overruns
or delays, parliament's financial watchdog reveals in a report today.

The projects are a pilot training simulator for the Eurofighter, the £19bn
project itself dogged by budget overruns and delays; the Meteor missile for
the Eurofighter; the proposed European A400M transport aircraft; the type 45
destroyer; and the joint strike fighter for Britain's two new aircraft
carriers.

The report, by the national audit office, "shows that behind the headline
figures of improving controls of costs and delays, the MoD may be storing up
problems for future years", Edward Leigh, chairman of the Commons public
accounts committee, said.

He added: "I am concerned that the MoD's progress may be masking deeper
trouble ahead. Even at this early stage ... there are indications that the
rot is setting in. All five of the projects which have been approved since
2001 have run into trouble and one of them (the transport aircraft, the
A400M) has already been delayed by 16 months."

The report is published days after the launch of the army's new "all
terrain" transporter was delayed when a £2m Challenger tank toppled from the
truck and landed on its roof.

The MoD has bought 92 of the US-built transporters at a cost of £290m. The
70-tonne Challenger 2 tank left the trailer as it turned a corner at 10mph.

An MoD spokesman said an investigation was under way.