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MoD Chinook delays 'endanger' troops
Soldiers' lives have been endangered by one of the most "irresponsible" defence procurement programmes ordered by the Ministry of Defence which caused major delays to the introduction of Chinook helicopters, a report has said.
An eight year delay to the introduction of eight new aircraft has led to servicemen taking "greater risk" by increased road travel with dozens dying in roadside bombs, the Public Accounts Committee said.
Helicopters already in service have also had to have "bolt-on" refurbishments that increased the dangers of flying Chinooks.
Committee chairman Edward Leigh said that the Chinook Mk 3 programme had been "hamstrung from the start" with "bad decision-making to the point of irresponsibility".
"The consequences have included a shortage of helicopter support in Afghanistan, thereby heightening the risk to the lives of British troops," Mr Leigh said.
The helicopters were originally ordered from manufacturer Boeing in 1995 with a modified cockpit computer system intended to cut costs and were delivered in 2001.
However, the MoD failed to secure access to the software source code which has meant that they have never been able to fly as no airworthiness certificate could be granted.
Last year, the MoD announced that it had given up attempts to operate them as Mk 3s and would be downgrading them to Mk 2s so that they could finally be used in Afghanistan.
In the meantime the total cost has spiralled from £259 million to a total in excess of £422 million. Each Chinook will cost more than £54 million, the equivalent unit cost of a Eurofighter Typhoon.
The "bolt-on" equipment for the Mk2s to help them fly at night for special operations in Afghanistan had made the aircraft harder to fly and has been judged a key risk to the helicopters' airworthiness.
The modification of the Mk2 Chinook cockpit to enable their use in low light conditions was a "far from perfect solution and compounded safety risks" the report said.
In 2007, under mounting pressure to provide additional helicopter lift to Afghanistan, the MoD scrapped the Fix to Field project in favour of a new project called Reversion, designed to accelerate the helicopters' entry into operational service. In assessing the Reversion project, however, the MoD failed to consult with Boeing on the potential costs or timeframes, and the price of the project subsequently grew by 70 per cent.
The committee also disclosed that "scarce" Chinooks were being used for basic pilot training because computerised flight simulators had not been modified to reflect the capabilities of the aircraft currently flying in Afghanistan and Iraq.
The report said the procurement disaster would hopefully have taught the MoD that it should minimise the number of modification requests it made when buying off-the-shelf equipment.
A MoD spokesman said: "The department has repeatedly acknowledged the problems with the initial procurement and we have changed the way we do business since these helicopters were bought," a spokesman said.
It is expected that the eight Chinooks will enter service later this year freeing up more of the helicopters for use in Afghanistan.
Soldiers' lives have been endangered by one of the most "irresponsible" defence procurement programmes ordered by the Ministry of Defence which caused major delays to the introduction of Chinook helicopters, a report has said.
An eight year delay to the introduction of eight new aircraft has led to servicemen taking "greater risk" by increased road travel with dozens dying in roadside bombs, the Public Accounts Committee said.
Helicopters already in service have also had to have "bolt-on" refurbishments that increased the dangers of flying Chinooks.
Committee chairman Edward Leigh said that the Chinook Mk 3 programme had been "hamstrung from the start" with "bad decision-making to the point of irresponsibility".
"The consequences have included a shortage of helicopter support in Afghanistan, thereby heightening the risk to the lives of British troops," Mr Leigh said.
The helicopters were originally ordered from manufacturer Boeing in 1995 with a modified cockpit computer system intended to cut costs and were delivered in 2001.
However, the MoD failed to secure access to the software source code which has meant that they have never been able to fly as no airworthiness certificate could be granted.
Last year, the MoD announced that it had given up attempts to operate them as Mk 3s and would be downgrading them to Mk 2s so that they could finally be used in Afghanistan.
In the meantime the total cost has spiralled from £259 million to a total in excess of £422 million. Each Chinook will cost more than £54 million, the equivalent unit cost of a Eurofighter Typhoon.
The "bolt-on" equipment for the Mk2s to help them fly at night for special operations in Afghanistan had made the aircraft harder to fly and has been judged a key risk to the helicopters' airworthiness.
The modification of the Mk2 Chinook cockpit to enable their use in low light conditions was a "far from perfect solution and compounded safety risks" the report said.
In 2007, under mounting pressure to provide additional helicopter lift to Afghanistan, the MoD scrapped the Fix to Field project in favour of a new project called Reversion, designed to accelerate the helicopters' entry into operational service. In assessing the Reversion project, however, the MoD failed to consult with Boeing on the potential costs or timeframes, and the price of the project subsequently grew by 70 per cent.
The committee also disclosed that "scarce" Chinooks were being used for basic pilot training because computerised flight simulators had not been modified to reflect the capabilities of the aircraft currently flying in Afghanistan and Iraq.
The report said the procurement disaster would hopefully have taught the MoD that it should minimise the number of modification requests it made when buying off-the-shelf equipment.
A MoD spokesman said: "The department has repeatedly acknowledged the problems with the initial procurement and we have changed the way we do business since these helicopters were bought," a spokesman said.
It is expected that the eight Chinooks will enter service later this year freeing up more of the helicopters for use in Afghanistan.
