Originally Posted by
Lomon
It isn't just about increasing budgets, but about spending it sensibly.
We can't continue to go the way we have in the past with projects like NImrod MRA4 or the carriers, where a company bids for the job, MoD accepts the lowest quote, and then when the contractor misses the deadline and goes over budget we just keep throwing money at them. The contractors need to be held to account instead.
Contracts for infrastructure need to be taken in house - we have units full of electricians who are allowed to do something as simple as change a light bulb because Amey or Babcock or whoever have a contract to do that, but take 2 weeks to come out and do it - and charge the MoD for the bulb at about 10 times the price.
The Nimrod MRA4 wasn't airworthy and never could be. That was why the project was cancelled, no matter what cost smokescreen attempts were used to obscure that. No idea about the carriers but they do seem to require a lot of towing to get around.