Excellent Engines, as usual.
A little tale that reveals much. As a programme, Apache was being ramped up at much the same time as the follow-on Chinook Mk2 buy was being split into Mk2 and Mk3.
Both were resourced by our 2 Star (same one as Nimrod 2000/2010/RMPA/MRA4) as a simple build to print job. Apache, for example, had no avionic specialists whatsoever in the small project team. (MGO on the other hand resourced it with 70+ ILS staff).
Essentially, the US offered a build standard that included old 2nd hand kit they were replacing, and MoD blindly accepted (what UK call the Appendix A to the aircraft spec) because the PT had no-one to scrutinise it properly. That happened some way into contract negotiations, when a programme manager in another part of DHP pointed out that some of the comms system was obsolete (not just obsolescent) and the RN had the same kit under a "repair by cannibalisation" maintenance policy since the early 80s. Worse, and illustrating the "stovepiping" within the Directorate, never mind across Directorates and Services, DHP were actively replacing it in those RN aircraft. There is something VERY wrong in Main Building if, at the same time, one Service is replacing an obsolete kit and another is buying it for the first time. If they REALLY wanted it for Apache, why not just take the RN kit being hooked out of SK?
The 2 Star's immediate reaction was revealing. Apache got a 4 man avionics team, later augmented by a radar specialist. The PM who spotted the con was told he was an "embarrassment to the department" and ordered to find another job outwith Air Systems............
MoD's problems encapsulated in one post! Now, are we confident MoD has progressed to such an extent this could be avoided this time? Take that one simple example. Does DE&S still have anyone who would know the maintenance policy of such a random selection of mostly foreign avionic kit just by looking at the part numbers? None of the necessary skills or experience are required today to gain entry to DE&S.