MoD 'may sacrifice equipment plan'

The Commons Defence Committee said that the pressures on the MoD's equipment budget were so great it may prove impossible to resolve them simply by scaling back or delaying orders.

The MoD has acknowledged that all the projects in its major equipment programme are coming under scrutiny in a "planning round" described as more "challenging" than any since the 1970s.

Projects that could face cuts or delays include the Royal Navy's two planned new aircraft carriers and the Army's new family of armoured vehicles known as Fres (Future Rapid Effects System).

However, the committee said that such expedients may not be enough and that it may be better to axe a whole project.

It also called on the MoD to explain why it found itself in such difficulties with its equipment programme at a time when the overall defence budget was increasing in real terms. "The MoD needs to take the difficult decisions which will lead to a realistic and affordable equipment programme," it said.

"This may well mean cutting whole equipment programmes, rather than just delaying orders or making cuts to the number of platforms ordered across a range of equipment programmes."

The committee pointed to two projects currently in the assessment phase - a new fleet of support tankers for the Navy and a replacement for the RAF's Lynx helicopter - which could be vulnerable if there were wholesale cuts.

It also urged the MoD to consider whether the time had come to "cut its losses" and abandon the updated Nimrod MRA4 maritime reconnaissance aircraft which was now running eight years behind schedule and almost £800 million over budget.

The Nimrod MRA4 was one of three major projects, along with the Astute submarine and the Type 45 destroyer, which, the committee pointed out, had together accumulated delays totalling almost 14 years and cost overruns of £2.9 billion.