New blow for troops over tanks
BRITISH troops face a shortage of armoured vehicles until at least 2024, the Government’s spending watchdog says today.
Ministry of Defence attempts to bring a range of armoured vehicles into service have failed despite £1.1billion being spent, the National Audit Office has discovered.
Since the Labour government’s 1998 strategic defence review, the MoD has spent £718million on armoured vehicle programmes which have been scrapped or have yet to deliver. In the same period the MoD procured fewer than 200 vehicles, at a cost of £407million. Six out of eight major projects have been scrapped, suspended or delayed. Only the Viking all-terrain programme and a scheme to produce Titan and Trojan vehicles have been a success.
In its report released today, the NAO said the suspension and cancellation of a number of key armoured vehicle projects has resulted in the armed forces “facing a significant shortage in the principal armoured vehicles they require, until at least 2024-2025.”