Supplementary memorandum by Lord Drayson,
Minister of State for Defence Equipment and Support
QUESTION
EU Defence ministers have already agreed that
"network-enabled capability must be a fundamental priority
for ESDP operations"[1].
How is the UK Government pursuing this objective? Are you concerned
by the delay in the launch of the EU's Galileo system, which would
provide the EU with an alternative to the US's Global Positioning
System (GPS)?
NEC
ANSWER
We need to first explain a little about NEC
to answer this question; NEC is more than just equipment, the
concept of NEC links people, networks and information. NEC offers
decisive advantage through the timely provision and exploitation
of information and intelligence to enable effective decision-making
and agile actions.
The EDA has recently agreed the mandate for
the "Wise Pen" initiative. A Two Star level official
will be recruited to develop proposals for an EU wide NEC concept.
The EU Military Staff will be responsible for developing information
exchange requirements for the EU.
The UK has been working on NEC for a number
of years, undertaking experimentation, producing concepts and
doctrine, binding together the people, networks and information
strands and building the NEC mindset. An example of this is the
Defence Information Infrastructure (DII) computer network that
will eventually connect the entire department, enhancing decision
making to support operations. The implementation of NEC will take
time and will be done in a coherent and progressive way by developing
Defence equipments, software, processes, structures and individual
and collective training, underpinned by the development of secure,
robust and extensive network of networks.
We see the pursuit of NEC in the EU and in other
international organisations (NATO) as the extension of the work
we are undertaking in the UK. It is about standards to allow networks
to be connected together with the correct protocols and procedures
to allow the sharing of information in multinational formations.
With the experience we have gained, the UK is in a good position
to share these with our European partners. The process of achieving
NEC for the EU will take time but we think that a draft concept
is the right place to start and will be supporting this work with
our expertise.
Galileo
The UK sees no military need for an alternative
to the US Global Positioning System (GPS). It remains committed
to GPS for all its military timing and precision navigation needs
and as the NATO standard.
QUESTION
At Le Bourget air show in June 2007, France and
Germany announced their intention to work together on a project
for a transport helicopter capability, which will be open to UK
participation in the framework of the European Defence Agency
(EDA). What are the criteria that the Government will use to determine
whether the UK should participate in this project?
ANSWER
The UK MOD undertook a comprehensive review
of its helicopter strategy in 2004 as part of the Future Rotorcraft
Capability. This review identified that our heavy lift requirements
would be met by Chinook until at least 2025 and that it is unlilely
that we would switch to another Transport/Heavy Transport helicopter
in that time.
Participation on such a collaborative arrangement
would likely depend upon:
— alignment of our future lift requirement
with that of the Franco-German Future Transport Helicopter project;
— availability of this capability compared
with the out of service dates of our current fleet;
— value for money, compared to Chinook;
— alignment with our future helicopter
strategy; and
— other Lines of Development issues
including; whether these aircraft could be operated from present
and prospective amphibious shipping.
SUPPLEMENTARY QUESTION—ARTICLE
296
Re: Commission Interpretative Communication on
the Application of Article 296 in the Field of Defence Procurement
(doc COM(2006) 779 final)
With reference to the above Interpretative Communication
on the Application of Article 296, the Sub-Committee would additionally
like to ask Lord Drayson on 12 July whether he believes the case
for a new Directive in the field of defence procurement has been
made. Could he clarify the Government's position on the need for
such a Directive? When is the Commission expected to adopt its
proposal, and what is the scope of the Government's involvement
in Commission consultations in this respect?
Following the Commission's Interpretive Communication
on the use of Article 296, they have begun work on a "defence
package" that will comprise three parts:
— a Communication that will record
developments and progress since they issued the Green Paper in
2003;
— proposals for the regulation of Intra-Community
Transfers of defence equipment and technology; and
— a Directive on Defence Procurement.
For the time being the Government is agnostic
on the need for a Defence Directive, which would sit between procurements
under the Public Procurement Directive and those exempted by the
invocation of Article 296. Until we see the Commission's detailed
proposals, I would not want to pre-judge them. This is not likely
to be for some time although we should have a clearer idea when
the Commission releases its impact assessment.
I believe that the Commission feel there is
a need to recognise the very specialised nature of defence procurement
and that it does not always fit the template of the Public Procurement
Directive. At the same time they want Governments to rely less
and less on Article 296. To this extent they appear to want to
help us in making the EDTIB more effective, but it is too soon
to say.
The Commission have promised the package by
the end of the year, and Ministy of Defence staff have been engaged
in a series of informal consultations with the Commission to help
them better to understand the nature of defence procurement and
the ways in which a Directive might help rather than hinder the
way we do business.
25 July 2007
1 The Europen Defence Agency Steering Board agreed
on 28 June 2007 to commission a report on this topic by an expert
or "Wise Pen". Back
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