Source · Select Committees · Defence Committee
Recommendation 9
9
Accepted
Paragraph: 44
The Ministry, which mandated this weapons system, should therefore now be fully transparent about the...
Recommendation
The Ministry, which mandated this weapons system, should therefore now be fully transparent about the cost of this new, highly specialised ammunition and its implications for the full life-cycle costs of the vehicle (and indeed for Ajax, which utilises the same weapon system).
Government response summary AI-generated
The government agrees on the need for transparency and explains the higher cost of the 40mm ammunition reflects increased capability, with overall costs reduced through increased effectiveness and cooperation with France. It confirms that a Full Business Case in 2019 outlined the estimated whole life costs for 40mm ammunition, subject to internal independent assurance.
Summary of the government's response below — read the verbatim text to verify.
Paragraph Reference:
44
Government Response
Accepted
HM Government · verbatim extract
Accepted
The Department is committed to this weapons system and agrees with the Committee for the need for accountability and transparency on the programme. The higher cost of the 40mm ammunition and weapon system reflects its increased capability against more demanding threats; increased effectiveness will reduce the amount needed to be fired, whilst increased synthetic training will also reduce live fire costs. Furthermore, cooperation with France, who have had success in integrating the weapon, on the 40mm Cased Telescoped Weapons System (CTWS) has allowed the UK to share cost in 40mm ammunition development and cannon and ammunition qualification. Manufacturing resilience is improved, with CTWS ammunition able to be assembled from components in either country. Shared use of the weapon system has allowed collaborative learning and delivers useful operational interoperability. The CTWS also supports a number of manufacturing and engineering jobs across several key BAES sites including Glascoed, Washington, and the Bishopton Site in Scotland. A Full Business Case for the initial operational stock purchase of 40mm in 2019 outlined the estimated whole life costs for 40mm ammunition. This was subject to internal independent assurance.
Read the full response on Parliament ↗