Letter from Peter Luff MP, Minister for
Defence Equipment, Support and Technology, Ministry of Defence,
to the Chair
One of the conclusions of the Strategic Defence and
Security Review which was announced in Parliament on 19 October
was our decision not to bring into service the Nimrod MRA4 maritime
patrol aircraft programme. Instead, we will continue to depend
on other military assets to contribute to the tasks that were
previously planned for the MRA4 aircraft. As I know that you have
a strong interest in this project, I am writing to inform you
of our intentions for taking its cancellation forward.
The decision not to bring the Nimrod MRA4 into service
was difficult, owing to the nature of the military tasks to which
it was designed to contribute, the amount of public money that
had been spent on it, and the impact of the decision on the people
who have dedicated their careers to delivering this capability,
or who depend on it for their livelihoods. However, the severe
financial pressures faced by the nation and the urgent need to
bring the defence programme into balance meant that we could not
retain all our existing programmes, and we had to prioritise those
capabilities that we could continue to maintain. The MRA4 project
has suffered from repeated delays and cost overruns. But it was
the value for money decision when considering the aircraft's future
support costs against the capability it was set to provide that
contributed to the decision not to bring it into service, despite
its advanced state. It would have cost significant amounts to
operate and maintain the aircraft, and we estimate that around
£2 billion will be saved over the next 10 years by not bringing
the aircraft into service.
Since that difficult decision was taken, officials
have been discussing with BAE Systems arrangements to terminate
the contracts for production and support of the aircraft. I have
considered a range of options for the disposal of the Nimrod MRA4
fleet and concluded that the most cost effective option is for
the nine aircraft to be disposed of, following recovery of equipment
and systems that can be used elsewhere. Discussions are continuing
with BAE Systems on the detail of the disposal.
I am very conscious of the impact of this decision
on those people who have been working on the project and those
who were due to have operated and supported the aircraft, and
their families. Both the Prime Minister and the Defence Secretary
have said the Government will take into account the regional economic
and social impacts of our decisions when they are made.
1 December 2010
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