Looks like the National Audit Office have been at it again:
Taken from the Guardian website (I'm only interested in the Chinook - honest!)
The Ministry of Defence is accused today of a litany of mistakes after it was revealed to have spent hundreds of millions of pounds on eight Chinook helicopters which are still not airworthy 13 years after being ordered.
A report by the National Audit Office reveals that for seven years the helicopters have been stored in air conditioned hangars in Britain while troops in Afghanistan have been forced to rely on helicopters which are flying with safety faults. The new helicopters should have been in service in 2002.
Now the new helicopters are to be downgraded - stripping out some of their more advanced equipment - in a "quick fix" solution so they can fly by 2010. By the time they are airworthy, the total cost of the project could be as much as £500m.
The MoD admitted to the National Audit Office that it has put British troops at some risk in Helmand province, southern Afghanistan, by adapting existing helicopters for special operations. Eight more basic Chinook helicopters have been given temporary night vision equipment which obscures the pilot's forward and landing views. Edward Leigh, the Conservative chairman of the Commons public accounts committee, said the disclosures revealed "a gold-standard procurement cock-up" and "one of the most incompetent procurements of all time".
Main findings of the NAO report are:
· In 1995 eight Special Operation Mk3 Chinook helicopters were ordered by the MoD from the US manufacturer Boeing but officials did not include in the contract access to security codes to test their airworthiness;
· In 2001 the helicopters were delivered and found not to comply with airworthiness standards. The MoD was told they could only be flown safely up to 500ft from the ground on a clear, sunny day. They were put into store in hangars in Boscombe Down;
· In 2002 less sophisticated Mk2 Chinook helicopters were equipped for night vision flying instead - but the infra-red computer screens partly obscured front and landing vision, making them less safe to fly. The cost of the upgrade was £32.3m.
· In 2004 the MoD decided on a high-level upgrade at a cost of £215m to get the aircraft airworthy by 2008. But it took much longer than anticipated to get the programme organised with the contractor and it became clear the helicopters would not fly until 2011;
· In 2007 the MoD cancelled the upgrade, at a cost of £17.25m, because it would take too long. It opted for a cheaper programme with a new night vision system, costing £53m. That cost later more than doubled to £112m, with a further, unknown sum for night vision equipment.
The MoD now says it will have one of the eight helicopters in operation by 2009 and the rest in 2010.
The report is certain to exacerbate relations between the MoD and army commanders in Afghanistan because it makes clear that they will have to wait two years to get the extra Chinooks, a year longer than previously promised. In the meantime, troops will have to travel by land, at a time when they are increasingly susceptible to attack from roadside bombs.
Not all the RAF's Chinooks are in good condition and some have been cannibalised for spare parts to keep others flying in Afghanistan. Leigh said: "This is a very unhappy state of affairs, made more acute by the knowledge of how much our soldiers in the hostile terrain of Afghanistan need helicopter support. By the time it is sorted out, the whole programme will have cost more than £422m - probably substantially more."
The minister for defence equipment and support, Lady Taylor, said: "The reversion project will allow delivery of more Chinooks to theatre in the shortest time-frame. The project remains on track in terms of time and budget, and is just part of a package of measures that we are implementing to improve our helicopter lift capability on operations."
The RAF fleet of 48 Chinooks is the largest outside the US. They have a good safety record except for the crash of a Chinook in the Mull of Kintyre in 1994 which killed 29 intelligence officers and service personnel.
Article by David Hencke