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| MoD’s ‘Bargain Bin’
mentality led directly to Chinook fiasco, says MP |
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 In 1995, the Ministry of Defence
(MoD) ordered 14 Chinook Mk2a helicopters, eight of which were modified to Mk3 standard in order to meet a requirement for Special Forces |
Commenting on the publication of the Commons public accounts committee report on the procurement of eight Chinook Mk3 helicopters by the Ministry of Defence, South Norfolk MP Richard Bacon, a member of the committee, said: “The MoD baulked at the cost of putting digital cockpits into eight Chinook helicopters which it had ordered for the SAS.” |
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“Then, having spent more than five years mulling over its ‘Fix to Field’ project to make the Chinooks operational, the MoD suddenly axed the scheme in favour of another project called ‘Reversion’. However, the MoD did not talk to Boeing, the Chinook’s manufacturer about the cost and timescale of Reversion before axing Fix to Field. This has led to a 70 per cent increase in estimated costs and none of the eight Chinooks has yet entered operational service.” “You really couldn’t make this up. Over £400 million of taxpayers’ money has so far been wasted because the MoD was penny wise, pound foolish. The irony is that for vastly less money than this, the MoD could have bought more Chinook helicopters that worked properly.” Mr Bacon was speaking as the Commons public accounts committee published its report on the procurement of eight Chinook Mk3 helicopters by the Ministry of Defence. In 1995, the Ministry of Defence (MoD) ordered 14 Chinook Mk2a helicopters, eight of which were modified to Mk3 standard in order to meet a requirement for Special Forces. The Mk3 Chinooks feature unique cockpit avionics which, because of the Department’s budgetary priorities elsewhere, ended up being a hybrid of analogue and digital systems, rather than purely digital systems as used by US Special Forces’ Chinooks and by the Royal Netherlands Air Force. Further operational requirements and difficult commercial negotiations led to a five year period of protracted negotiation and slow decision making under a project known as ‘Fix to Field’. In 2007, the MoD scrapped the Fix to Field project in favour of a new project called Reversion, designed to accelerate the helicopters’ entry into operational service. In assessing the Reversion project, however, the MoD failed to consult with Boeing, the manufacturer of the Chinook, with regard to the potential costs or timeframes and the estimated cost of the project subsequently grew by 70 per cent. The cost of the eight Chinook Mk3 helicopters once they enter service will be in excess of £422 million, or £52.5 million each.
5 March 2009 |
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| © Richard Bacon 2010 | ||||||||
PAC REPORT: