The £10billion project to create a fleet of seven Royal Navy submarines is in yet more troubled waters, a watchdog has warned. Its report on the Astute-class attack boats reveals costs are still rocketing.The subs have been plagued by a string of technical hitches and delays since the first vessel was ordered 18 years ago. And the mammoth project was expected to cost another £87.5million more than planned last year - up from £558.1million to £645.6million.
The watchdog, the Major Projects Authority, has issued an amber/red alert, meaning there are major issues in key areas.
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Nothing more than sensationalist garbage from a UK redtop.
ReplyDeleteTo claim the programme is at risk is unmitigated nonsense,that was never said only in the mind of the Mirrors reporter.
Yes the project is over budget, tell me any defence project of this complexity anywhere in the world that isn't.
The £87m that the mirror bleats on about, is probably what senior civil servants, MOD officials and senior ranking officers of all services, claim for chauffeur driven cars,entertainment, accomodation in first class hotels whilst on so called 'official business'
In short, a slow news day and a load of BS.
Further to my above post, this is what the MOD actually says.
ReplyDeleteAstute
(Source: UK Ministry of Defence; issued Aug 13, 2015)
The Daily Mirror reports that the Major Projects Authority has issued an amber/red alert on the £10bn Astute-class submarine project. The paper claims spending in 2014-15 on the project is £87.5m more than planned, and that the MPA assessed that there are major issues in key areas of the project.
The article concedes that, after years of delays, the scheme to replace the Trafalgar-class fleet remains on time against a revised schedule.
We are very clear that under the Astute submarine programme, we are committed to delivering seven submarines as a vital component of our maritime forces. A number of Performance Improvement initiatives have been developed to address the main risks and issues, with a focus on programme delivery.
A Ministry of Defence spokesperson said:
“Submarine build programmes are extremely complex and significant steps have been taken to address the issues raised by the MPA. The Astute programme is progressing to deliver world class submarines with the third, of seven, planned to enter service with the Royal Navy towards the end of the year.”
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