Originally Posted by
pr00ne
[B]
Afghanistan and Iraq campaigns were funded from Government Reserve plus a plethora of Urgent Operational Requirements that also did not come out of the MoD budget,
As ever, matters are not that simple. The immediate funding was provided from outwith MoD, but it could be said the Treasury claw some back every year. It is around 19 years since there's been a real world equipment budget increase; and the next one falls short as well. Plus, there are the 'hidden' cuts, such as the creation of QinetiQ and closure of 3rd line workshops - the former was effectively one of the biggest ever cuts in the equipment budget.
To take one example, at the time Herrick kicked off, the Infantry's flagship programme was costed at over £4Bn and approval granted 2 years previously to proceed. The primary aim was to reduce casualties, in a 3-phase programme ending in 2015. In short order, the budget was chopped to around £700M, and the programme extended and diluted to such a degree it is now unrecognisable.
If you don't ask, you don't get. Far far worse, in the Treasury's eyes, is asking, getting, and then saying you don't want it after spending pots of money. For example, Snatch replacement, cancelled in around 2003 despite the Army having made an exemplary case in the mid-90s that it was FAU and had to be replaced. Same with Nimrod MR2 secure comms. All kit bought and on the shelf, and some genius says we don't want it, and the brand new kit scrapped. That was only about £100M at today's prices, but it all adds up to astronomical waste and missed opportunities. To compensate for the lost funding, we see regular rumours like the Red Arrows being chopped. Better that the Services do the job properly in the first place. (None of what I've said had anything remotely to do with procurers).