The UK Ministry of Defence (MoD) has revealed to Jane’s full details of the 19 defence programmes being reconsidered by the government.
The total value of projects under review – those which were approved by the Treasury between 1 January 2010 and the general election in May – is about GBP14.5 billion (USD21.6 billion), Jane’s has learnt.
The major defence procurements under review include the A400M military transport aircraft programme (valued by the MoD at GBP3.29 billion); the Airseeker programme, which is intended to replace the Nimrod R.1 airborne signals intelligence and electronic intelligence capability (GBP1.4 billion); and the Search and Rescue Helicopter (SAR-H) private finance initiative procurement (GBP4.7 billion), which the Treasury suspended in mid-June.
The most high-profile deal to come under review will be the Future Rapid Effect System – Specialist Vehicles (FRES-SV) armoured vehicle development and demonstration contract, valued by the MoD at GBP1.44 billion. General Dynamics UK was selected as the preferred bidder in March. This is the lead-in contract for FRES-SV: a programme worth up to GBP9 billion overall.