Efforts to cut Britain’s military spending are actually making projects more expensive and, in some ways, hurting the country’s military readiness, a government spending watchdog warned yesterday.
The Ministry of Defence has been hit hard by the British government’s pledge to cut £81 billion (US$128 billion) in public spending through 2015.
A review of defense spending led to thousands of dismissals in the armed forces plus the scrapping of a fleet of fighter planes and an aircraft carrier.
The National Audit Office’s detailed report on Britain’s 15 largest military equipment projects found that the ministry’s attempts to balance its books and cut long term spending are having a counterproductive effect in the short term — adding £466 million this year to the cost of the biggest projects.
In addition, projects are delivering less than planned and taking longer to be completed, the report found.
When coupled with previous cost increases, the Audit Office said short term moves to balance the ministry’s books have put the largest projects £6 billion above initial forecasts.
“The resulting cuts and delays are not value for money,” said Amyas Morse, head of the Audit Office, adding that the ministry has been “hampered by a legacy of poor planning and performance.”
The report analyzed the cost, time and performance of the 15 largest military equipment projects, among them the A400M transport aircraft, the Airseeker surveillance system, the Lynx Wildcat helicopter, the Type 45 Destroyer and the Typhoon aircraft.
It said the Royal Navy would be without submarine attack strength for part of the next decade because of the ministry’s decision to delay the new Astute class of submarines.
That decision also added £200 million pounds to the cost of the program, the report added.
“By extending the Astute build program, the department will have to use older boats beyond their out-of-service dates, work the smaller fleet of Astute submarines harder, or reduce scheduled activity for submarines,” auditors said.
The Audit Office noted that if the ministry had avoided cost increases on the program, it could have built an additional submarine for less than the cost of what the ministry is forecasting for just seven boats.
British Defence Secretary Philip Hammond said that while the overall increase to equipment costs “is still too much,” the current government has “got a grip” on the vast cost increases seen under the previous administration.
The Audit Office said that overall, “central planning decisions” by the defense ministry had accounted for a net increase of £237 billion to the cost of the 15 largest projects — including an additional £113 million on enhancing equipment capabilities.
The forecast cost of all major projects approved since 2000 has risen by £10.6 billion. Still, the office said the cost increases would have been higher had the ministry not been forced to make cuts.
Republican US lawmakers on Friday criticized US President Joe Biden’s administration after sanctioned Chinese telecoms equipment giant Huawei unveiled a laptop this week powered by an Intel artificial intelligence (AI) chip. The US placed Huawei on a trade restriction list in 2019 for contravening Iran sanctions, part of a broader effort to hobble Beijing’s technological advances. Placement on the list means the company’s suppliers have to seek a special, difficult-to-obtain license before shipping to it. One such license, issued by then-US president Donald Trump’s administration, has allowed Intel to ship central processors to Huawei for use in laptops since 2020. China hardliners
Conjoined twins Lori and George Schappell, who pursued separate careers, interests and relationships during lives that defied medical expectations, died this month in Pennsylvania, funeral home officials said. They were 62. The twins, listed by Guinness World Records as the oldest living conjoined twins, died on April 7 at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, obituaries posted by Leibensperger Funeral Homes of Hamburg said. The cause of death was not detailed. “When we were born, the doctors didn’t think we’d make 30, but we proved them wrong,” Lori said in an interview when they turned 50, the Philadelphia Inquirer reported. The
RAMPAGE: A Palestinian man was left dead after dozens of Israeli settlers searching for a missing 14-year-old boy stormed a village in the Israeli-occupied West Bank US President Joe Biden on Friday said he expected Iran to attack Israel “sooner, rather than later” and warned Tehran not to proceed. Asked by reporters about his message to Iran, Biden simply said: “Don’t,” underscoring Washington’s commitment to defend Israel. “We are devoted to the defense of Israel. We will support Israel. We will help defend Israel and Iran will not succeed,” he said. Biden said he would not divulge secure information, but said his expectation was that an attack could come “sooner, rather than later.” Israel braced on Friday for an attack by Iran or its proxies as warnings grew of
A prominent Christian leader has allegedly been stabbed at the altar during a Mass yesterday in southwest Sydney. Bishop Mar Mari Emmanuel was saying Mass at Christ The Good Shepherd Church in Wakeley just after 7pm when a man approached him at the altar and allegedly stabbed toward his head multiple times. A live stream of the Mass shows the congregation swarm forward toward Emmanuel before it was cut off. The church leader gained prominence during the COVID-19 pandemic, amassing a large online following, Officers attached to Fairfield City police area command attended a location on Welcome Street, Wakeley following reports a number