Select Committee on Defence Seventh Report


3  Meeting the requirement in the short-term

Upgrade of existing vehicles

13. The MoD's submission to us states that it has adopted a two track approach to meeting its armoured fighting vehicle requirement.[21] The longer term approach—the FRES programme—is discussed in Chapter 4 of this report. In the short term, the MoD has begun a programme of upgrading its current fleet of vehicles through "protection improvements" to medium-weight vehicles (such as the FV430 series of vehicles, Saxon, CVR(T), and Challenger Armoured Repair and Recovery Vehicles (CHARRV)). A total of £147 million has been spent by the MoD on protection measures for vehicles deployed in Iraq and Afghanistan.[22]

14. The Minister for the Armed Forces, Rt Hon Adam Ingram MP, announced on 16 January 2007 that the first batch of upgraded FV 430s (now to be known as "Bulldogs") had been deployed in Iraq and that delivery of the full fleet would be complete by May 2007.[23]

Procurement of Mastiff and Vector armoured vehicles

15. In addition to the upgrade of its existing fleet of vehicles, the Secretary of State for Defence announced on 24 July 2006 that the MoD had procured 100 Cougar armoured wheeled patrol vehicles (to be known by the UK Army as "Mastiff") and 100 Vector force protection vehicles[24] (in addition to the 66 already on order) for deployment in Iraq and Afghanistan. General Figgures told us that the vehicles would be deployed in theatre in 2007.[25] The Minister for the Armed Forces subsequently announced to the House that, on current plans, fully operational Vector vehicles "should be delivered to Afghanistan by February 2007 and delivery of the full fleet by August 2007".[26]

16. The MoD told us that Mastiff and Vector did not possess the capability the Army required in the long-term. General Figgures told us that Mastiff and Vector

are not armoured fighting vehicles, they are a means of conveying people from A to B [with reduced risk] so they would not do what we require from FRES. They would not be able to carry out offensive action in the way that we would anticipate.[27]

17. During our inquiry into the MoD's Annual Report and Accounts 2005-06, the MoD told us that the cost of procuring Mastiff and Vector was expected to be in the region of £120 million.[28] The MoD added that the funding of the procurement of Vector had been drawn from its own resources, but funds for the procurement of Mastiff, some £70 million, had been made available by the Treasury.[29]

18. During this inquiry we asked the MoD whether the funds used to procure Mastiff had been drawn from funds allocated to the FRES budget. The Chief of Defence Procurement (CDP) told us that the funds allocated for Urgent Operational Requirements (UORs) such as Mastiff, and funds for future development programmes were separate.[30] He told us categorically that "These UORs have not impacted on the budget for FRES, full stop".[31]

19. We asked the MoD where the financial burden for maintaining these vehicles over the long term would fall. The MoD stated that:

while Vector and Mastiff are deployed on operations, support costs will be funded by the Treasury as a net operational cost of the operation. When the vehicles are no longer needed on the operation the support costs will fall to the MoD.[32]

Once the vehicles were no longer deployed on operations, CDP told us that that the on-going maintenance cost of the vehicles would not impact on the budgets for other procurement projects.[33]

20. We welcome the MoD's action in meeting the immediate operational need for a medium-weight armoured vehicle in Iraq and Afghanistan. But the procurement of Mastiff and Vector does not provide a long-term solution to the Army's medium-weight vehicle requirement.

21. We welcome the fact that the Treasury has funded the procurement of Mastiff but are disappointed that it did not make the funds available for the Vector procurement. On present plans the post-operations, through-life maintenance costs for Vector and Mastiff will fall on the defence budget. The Treasury should make additional funds available to the MoD for the through-life support and maintenance of Vector and Mastiff.

22. The procurement of Mastiff and Vector must not deflect the MoD from working to meet the requirement for medium-weight vehicles over the longer term.


21   Ev 22, para 1 Back

22   www.mod.uk/DefenceInternet/DefenceNews/MilitaryOperations/DefenceSecretaryOrdersNewVehiclesFor
TroopsInIraqAndAfghanistan.htm 
Back

23   HC Deb, 18 January 2007, col 1260W Back

24   HC Deb, 24 July 2006, col 74WS Back

25   Q 82 Back

26   HC Deb, 18 January 2007, col 1260W Back

27   Q 144 Back

28   Defence Committee, Second Report of Session 2006-07, Ministry of Defence Annual Report and Accounts 2005-06, HC 57, Ev 34, para 9 Back

29   HC 57 (2006-07), para 4 Back

30   Q 148 Back

31   Q 150 Back

32   HC 57 (2006-07), para 4 Back

33   Qq 145-154 Back


 
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