Select committee inquiry

Delivering Carrier Strike inquiry

Closed

Public Accounts Committee · Opened 27 September 2017 · Closed 27 September 2017

What the inquiry looked at

“In 1998, the Ministry of Defence (MoD) took the decision to replace its Invincible Class Aircraft Carriers with two larger and more versatile carriers and to replace its Harrier Jets with a new generation of fast-jets. The process of deploying a carrier and jets, with a new radar system, is known as ‘Carrier Strike’. The Carrier Strike operation brings with it significant costs. The two new Queen Elizabeth Class aircraft carriers will cost £6.2 billion, the procurement of the 138 Lightning II aircraft is forecast to cost £5.8 billion and the cost of developing and buying the airborne radar system to protect the carriers – known as Crowsnest – is estimated to cost £300 million. In March 2017, the National Audit Office published a report on Delivering Carrier Strike, examining how the Department is managing the programme and whether it will be placed to deliver an initial Carrier Strike operating capability by December 2020. It also examined how MoD is handling the technical, cost and schedule risks. The NAO found that the Department has made good progress since Carrier Strike was last reported on in 2013 but that a number of strategic risks remain. The NAO found that there is potential for slippage in completing the project owing to earlier delays to the construction of the first carrier. It was also found that there is increasing pressure on a few highly trained personnel to operate the capability, a pressure which is compounded by a current shortage of military personnel. The Department is now entering a phase of high risk as a result of these personnel concerns, and use of new little-tested technologies. In this session, the Public Accounts Committee will assess progress since March, and examine the risk factors which might affect the three core programmes and compromise the planned timeline whereby Carrier Strike would be operational by 2020.”

The committee's words, from the inquiry page on parliament.uk ↗.

What it found

In the committee's words, from the summary of 14th Report - Delivering Carrier Strike ↗

Carrier Strike is central to the Government’s plans for Britain’s future defence. It incorporates two Queen Elizabeth class aircraft carriers, new F-35 Lightning II jets and a new radar system—Crowsnest. The defence budget is very strained in the light of commitments made in the last Strategic Defence and Security Review. Carrier Strike is expensive, and despite the Ministry of Defence (the Department) assuring us that it will manage costs, there is a threat to the future of other programmes if it goes over budget.

In addition, there are aspects of Carrier Strike that still need to be fully costed as the three elements come together. For the Department to secure value for money from its significant investment in this long-term capability, it will need to ensure that the carriers and jets can be fully and flexibly used alongside other military equipment, and can be upgraded to keep pace with technological advances. The Department must also seize opportunities to bring high-tech and skilled jobs to the UK by securing further global support contracts for the Lightning II jets. Completion of transformation within the Defence Equipment and Support organisation (DE&S) is key to ensuring it has the necessary commercial skills and capabilities, and is well placed to win such contracts.

What the government said

No government response is linked to this report.

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How the inquiry ran

Each dot is a dated item listed on this page, from the inquiry's opening on 27 September 2017 to 19 January 2018.

Oral evidence 2 sessions
Report 19 Jan 2018
Correspondence 27 Oct 2017
Sep 2017Jan 2018

What it recommended

The committee's recommendations are not listed here yet. Read them in 14th Report - Delivering Carrier Strike ↗ on parliament.uk.