What do you do when things don’t happen as expected? Feel disappointed, of course! Vigilance can authoritatively confirm this is the feeling of Defence Secretary Liam Fox at the moment and this is reflected in his response to the National Audit Office’s report into Carrier Strike.
Dr Fox said: “I am disappointed that the NAO were not able to produce an agreed report. We inherited a massive Defence deficit which included a carrier project that was already £1.6BN over budget. The Strategic Defence and Security Review put this programme back on track and delivered £3.4BN of overall savings to Carrier Strike. The NAO has noted that our decision to build the second new aircraft carrier makes financial sense, supports UK industry and the significant cost and capability advantages of the aircraft we now plan to fly from it.”
Fox added: “Converting one of the Queen Elizabeth Class aircraft carriers to operate the more capable and cost-effective Carrier Variant of the Joint Strike Fighter fast jet will maximise our military capability and enhance interoperability with our allies. Operating the more cost effective Carrier Variant fast jet will also over the longer-term offset the conversion costs. In the meantime we have rightly assessed that we can rely on our extensive basing and over-flight rights as we are doing to great effect in Libya.”
Fox unveils future plans: “In addition to the new carrier capability operating the fifth-generation Joint Strike Fighter, our vision for Future Force 2020 includes a Royal Navy operating seven new Astute class submarines, the new Type-26 Global Combat Ship and Type-45 destroyers.”
Equally disappointed is the Ministry of Defence’s Permanent Under Secretary, Ursula Brennan who remarked: “I am concerned that the NAO have taken the unusual step of publishing this report without agreeing the final text with me, as Accounting Officer, as required by their own guidance.”