Assessing Britain’s Procurement Problems

Ted Bromund / August 27, 2009

Last week, we noted that a set of slides summing up an internal report from Britain’s Ministry of Defense on defense procurement that had been leaked to the BBC did not place its serious charges into context. The full report has now been leaked to the Sunday Times, which will presumably publish it in due course. Only then will it be possible to assess the report’s merits and demerits. But even now, the parts that have been produced raise important questions.

The report, by Bernard Gray, a former senior MoD adviser, has captured headlines with its assertion that the MoD’s procurement plans are over budget by 35 billion pounds, and will not come into balance until 2028, presuming nothing else is ordered in the interim. Undoubtedly, Britain will want to order more in the interim. But the plans Gray is concerned about include the recapitalization of much of the British armed forces, including two new aircraft carriers, a substantial purchase of F-35 Lightning II fighters, and a replacement for the Trident nuclear missile submarines. Once purchased, none of these systems will have to be replaced in the foreseeable future. (more…)