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Defence ministers have been accused of losing almost £175mn on exterior recommendation on a brand new communications system for the British military that’s already mired in delays and isn’t as a consequence of enter service till the following decade.
The subsequent-generation system, often called Morpheus, had been as a consequence of substitute the present Bowman radio know-how, which was first launched greater than 20 years in the past, from 2026. Bowman, nonetheless, has needed to be upgraded a number of instances as a consequence of persistent delays within the procurement of Morpheus.
James Cartlidge, defence procurement minister, stated in a letter to John Healey, shadow defence secretary, in March that the Ministry of Defence had spent “c. £174mn on exterior help” for the Morpheus programme from 2015 to the tip of December 2023.
The revelation will gasoline issues over the MoD’s poor report on procurement and add to questions over the sum of money spent on Morpheus regardless of the dearth of progress. The division admitted final December that it had already spent slightly below £770mn on it.
Morpheus is the “newest in a line of failures that has seen Tory ministers blowing hundreds of thousands while hollowing out our armed forces”, stated Healey.
“Since 2010, the Conservatives have wasted not less than £15bn of taxpayers’ cash, didn’t ship main defence initiatives, and shrunk the British military to the smallest measurement since Napoleon,” he added.
The revelation additionally provides to issues over the reliance on exterior recommendation in authorities. Ministers’ use of advisers has risen to report ranges for the reason that final election and each of the principle events have given manifesto pledges to chop their utilization over the following parliament.
In his letter, which was a response to a parliamentary query put ahead by Healey about the usage of exterior consultants on Morpheus, Cartlidge stated “no exterior consultants” had been employed.
The MoD instructed the Monetary Occasions that “exterior help” coated issues like technical help. It was completely different from exterior consultancy because it was to do with supply somewhat than technique or administration. The £174mn spent was a part of the general £766mn spent on Morpheus to this point, it added.
Defence analysts, nonetheless, dismissed the excellence. “Whether or not it’s consultants or exterior help — it’s nonetheless the identical safety blanket: if unsure, get exterior advisers who will validate what you’re doing,” stated Francis Tusa, an analyst and editor of the Defence Evaluation e-newsletter.
Morpheus has been described because the “mind” of the military’s future armoured automobiles and a wider community linking infantry with commanders, sensors and weapons. The brand new system includes the event of each software program and {hardware}, together with battlefield radios.
Its exact future, nonetheless, is now in query after the MoD final December admitted that the venture had “fallen brief” of expectations and that it was chopping its losses on one of many primary contracts. It stated it was ending a £395mn contract with Basic Dynamics of the US to design an open structure programme for the transition from the Bowman system.
It’s the second problematic procurement that Basic Dynamics has been concerned in with the MoD. Additionally it is the lead contractor for Ajax, the British Military’s long-delayed armoured car programme.
The continued delays meant that the military is in a “actually unhealthy place”, stated Tusa. The drive must deliver new automobiles resembling Challenger 3, Boxer, Ajax and different automobiles into service with Bowman, which is “outdated”. Tusa estimates that it might value a “minimal of £1bn in further expenditure” to transform the automobiles.
