Tanks overhaul ‘has already cost £381m’

DEFENCE bosses have already spent at least £381 million overhauling British tanks, new figures reveal, amid concerns over costs and delays.

Lockheed Martin was hired six years ago to overhaul and fit new gun turrets to Britain’s ageing fleet of Warriors, which have served in the Gulf, Bosnia and Iraq.

But Ministry of Defence documents forecast the Warrior upgrade is a year behind schedule, with the programme incurring extra costs as a result of delays.

Up to 380 new Warriors were to be upgraded under the original plans, forming the backbone of two armoured infantry brigades planned as part of a reorganisation of the army. However, The Times reported last month that one of these brigades could be disbanded, with hundreds of its fighting vehicles scrapped as part of a drive to cut costs.

A review of the defence spending programme is also under way, leading to speculation over cuts to the Royal Marines and the Navy’s amphibious assault vehicles, as well as the Warrior programme.

Labour’s Kevan Jones, a former defence minister, said: “Minsters need to urgently explain how £381 million has already been spent on a vehicle that might now only be deployed in very limited numbers. The Government’s attempts to balance the books of the defence budget are becoming increasingly chaotic.”