Select Committee on Public Accounts Minutes of Evidence


APPENDIX 1

Supplementary memorandum submitted by the Ministry of Defence

Question 37: Why did changed budgetary priorities result in the non-achievement of three Key User Requirements referred to in paragraph 1.28 of the report?

  The three KURs missed because of budgetary priorities were on the Tornado Mid Life Update programme. This variation was derived from four KURs which were missed because of an equal combination of budgetary and technical factors (equating to two KURs), and one which was missed solely due to budgetary factors. This is set out in the table below.

Key RequirementFactor
Integration of a Terrain Reference Navigation (TRN) System Changed Budgetary Priorities and Technical Factors
Integration of Government Furnished Equipment (GFE) tail-mounted, rear facing Missile Approach Warner (MAW) Changed Budgetary Priorities and Technical Factors
Incorporation of a Terrain Following Radar (TFR)/TRN cross-monitor for terrain following flight Changed Budgetary Priorities and Technical Factors
Integration of a new terrain following display for simultaneous display of TFR returns and the TRN prediction. Changed Budgetary Priorities and Technical Factors
Application of stealth materials to reduce the aircraft's radar cross-section and reflection Changed Budgetary Priorities

  Following substantial slippage to the MLU in service date and significant cost escalation in the early 90s, it was concluded at the time of the 1994 re-approval that a revised programme, which struck a better balance between capability, quality and affordability, offered a more cost effective way forward. The five requirements identified above were deleted from the programme. The remaining KURs specific to this re-definition have all been met. The Tornado MLU project originated in 1984; the KURs detailed in the MPR were raised retrospectively against the original programme.

Question 78: Delay as a proportion of the total expected length of the project.





 
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