Source · Select Committees · Defence Committee
Recommendation 8
8
Paragraph: 42
Despite having spent around 50% of the allocated budget (£800 million), the programme has yet...
Conclusion
Despite having spent around 50% of the allocated budget (£800 million), the programme has yet to place a manufacturing contract. The programme has a current in-service date of 2024 (originally planned for 2017) and is some £227 million over budget. After a decade of effort, this abject failure to deliver against both cost, (with an overrun now totalling over a quarter of a billion pounds of public money) and timescale (ISD seven years late) is clearly totally unacceptable. Nevertheless, it is symptomatic of the extremely weak management of Army equipment programmes, by both DE & S and the Army Board itself, in recent years.
Paragraph Reference:
42
Government Response
Acknowledged
HM Government
Acknowledged
The Department notes the Committee’s concerns about historical progress on the Warrior Capability Sustainment Project (CSP). The drivers of cost growth and schedule delay related primarily to the technical and engineering challenges around systems integration, including those associated with the inclusion of the qualified cannon build standard, which were not sufficiently understood at the outset by either party. Although the decision has now been taken as part of the Integrated Review to no longer upgrade Warrior, we recognise that we need to learn the lessons from this programme to improve future performance in delivering our Armoured Fighting Vehicle capability as part of Integrated Force 2030. Our programme of acquisition reform is addressing these issues, and we now have systems in place both to identify lessons and to conduct checks and balances as programmes are delivered. For example, the DE&S Delivery Endorsement are shared amongst the project delivery community. This, coupled with our new approvals and delivery framework, will ensure that we are better placed to respond to the challenges afforded by complex defence procurement programmes in the future.