£16bn Future Rapid Effects System faces axe in defence cuts

[unhappycamper]

British soldiers are seen inside their armoured vehicle as they patrol a street in the southern city of Basra


£16bn Future Rapid Effects System faces axe in defence cuts
By Sean Rayment and Patrick Hennessy
Published: 9:00PM BST 09 Oct 2010

The programme, known as the Future Rapid Effects System, was supposed to supply the Army with more than 3,000 armoured vehicles at a cost of £16 billion, with "through life" cost - including maintenance and running costs over a 40-year period - reaching £60 billion.

But last night a senior Ministry of Defence source said: "FRES is dead in the water. It's a dead duck. It is the definition of everything that is wrong with the MoD's procurement process."

The decision will mean that the Army will be forced to fight in Afghanistan and in future conflicts with its existing fleet of ageing vehicles, some of which first entered service in the 1960s.

It is also understood that the Royal Navy's Type 26 Frigate also faces delay or cancellation, and up to 30,000 MoD civil servants could be axed as part of the Strategic Defence and Security Review due to be published on Oct 18.

The Type 26, also known as the Future Surface Combatant, was hailed by the First Sea Lord, Admiral Sir Mark Stanhope, as "the future backbone of the Royal Navy".



unhappycamper comment: Now if only the US could reign in our MIC. :(