The 20 largest equipment procurement projects that have passed their main investment decision point (Main Gate) since May 1997 are as follows:
Project Main Gate approval1 Total cost to 31 March 2006 A400M—Heavy Transport Aircraft 2,700 200 Advanced Jet Trainer 500 70 Airborne Stand Off Radar (ASTOR) System 1,100 870 Beyond Visual Range Air to Air Missile 1,400 280 Bowman—Data and Voice Communication 2,000 1,760 C17—Strategic Airlift 790 500 C Vehicle—Private Finance Initiative 710 20 Future Joint Combat Aircraft 2,200 560 Future Lynx2 2,000 0 Combined Aerial Target Service2 430 0 Merlin Capability Sustainment Programme 860 40 Next Generation Light Anti-Armour Weapon 420 100 Seawolf Missile System—Block 2 550 210 Skynet 5—Satellite Communications 2,900 150 Sonar 2087 390 180 Successor Identification Friend or Foe 390 230 Support Vehicles 1,600 20 T45 Destroyer 5,500 2,800 Trojan and Titan Engineer Vehicles 400 260 Watchkeeper 900 40 1 Costs have been rounded to nearest £10 million if total expenditure is under £1 billion and to the nearest £100 million if total expenditure is over £1 billion. 2 Future Lynx and Combined Aerial Target Service were approved in June and December 2006 respectively. No costs were incurred for demonstration and manufacture as at 31 March 2006.
The costs shown are those demonstration and manufacture costs approved (the ‘not to exceed’ cost) at Main Gate and those incurred to 31 March 2006. None of the projects have been completed and therefore final costs have not been provided.
Expenditure on consultancy fees related to these projects since 1997 is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost. However, I can advise that summaries of MOD expenditure on external assistance, of which consultancy is a part, are available in the Library of the House for the years 1995-96 to 2005-06.