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Select Committee · Defence Committee

Aviation Procurement

Status: Closed Opened: 21 Mar 2022 Closed: 11 Dec 2023 5 recommendations 14 conclusions 1 report

The Committee has decided to inquire into aviation procurement across the Armed Forces and will undertake two distinct but connected inquiries. The first will focus on the strategic context, existing contracts and capabilities, and the impact of planned reductions to the fleet, and will consider in particular: Will the proposals set out in the Integrated …

Clear

Reports

1 report
Title HC No. Published Items Response
Tenth Report - Aviation Procurement: Winging it? HC 178 10 Sep 2023 19 Responded

Recommendations & Conclusions

2 items
3 Conclusion Tenth Report - Aviation Procurement: Wi… Deferred

F-35 fleet expansion faces high costs, slow growth, and unresolved deployment questions

Increasing the UK’s F-35 fleet beyond the 74 aircraft already planned would be one way to address the combat air capability gap, and this was an approach supported by several of our witnesses. However, although acquisition costs for the aircraft may have reduced, sustainment costs remain unacceptably high. The fleet’s …

Government response. The government states it will procure a further 27 F-35 aircraft by the early 2030s and will consider increasing the overall fleet size in the mid-2020s as part of the next Strategic Defence Review. It also states it has adapted …
Ministry of Defence
9 Conclusion Tenth Report - Aviation Procurement: Wi… Deferred

Implement without delay recommendations from recent report on systemic procurement issues

Whilst the E-7 is undoubtedly a capable aircraft, its procurement has been a woeful but depressingly familiar story of MoD failings and contractor underperformance combining to deliver a programme over time and over budget. Our recent report on defence procurement made a series of recommendations to tackle the systemic procurement …

Government response. The government has deflected this recommendation by stating it has responded separately to the Defence Sub-Committee’s report on Defence Procurement.
Ministry of Defence

Oral evidence sessions

4 sessions
Date Witnesses
17 May 2023 Air Chief Marshal Sir Richard Knighton KCB · Ministry of Defence, James Cartlidge MP, Minister for Defence Procurement, Vice Admiral Rick Thompson · Ministry of Defence View ↗
22 Mar 2023 Andy Netherwood - Squadron Leader (Rtd), Captain Royal Navy (Rtd) Dan Stembridge · Royal Aeronautical Society, Lieutenant General USAF (Rtd) David Deptula · Mitchell Institute for Aerospace Studies View ↗
29 Nov 2022 Anna Keeling · Boeing Defence UK, Ian Muldowney · BAE Systems Air, Paul Livingston · Lockheed Martin, Sir Kevin Leeson · Airbus UK View ↗
28 Jun 2022 Dr Sophy Antrobus · Kings College London, Justin Bronk · Royal United Services Institute (RUSI) View ↗