Watchkeeper Escapes UK Defence Axe

The British Army’s Watchkeeper programme has made sufficient recent progress to escape inclusion on the UK Ministry of Defence’s new Projects of Concern list, defence secretary Dr Liam Fox has confirmed.Aiming to deliver a fleet of WK450 air vehicles and associated equipment for tactical intelligence, surveillance, target acquisition and reconnaissance tasks, the Watchkeeper project had been among three late-running acquisitions discussed during the first meeting of the Major Projects Review Board (MPRB) in June.

Contractors were warned that a failure to demonstrate satisfactory progress over the following three months would see them “named and shamed” on a formal Projects of Concern list.

On 1 October, the MoD confirmed that two of the reviewed programmes – the Thales UK/Elbit Systems-developed Watchkeeper and the Falcon secure communications system – had made progress, and would not go on the list.

The first WK450 air vehicles and equipment are due to be deployed to Afghanistan late this year, before entering frontline use in the first quarter of 2012.

“It is clear that the additional rigour and scrutiny being applied through the Major Projects Review Board is having a beneficial effect on the behaviours of our suppliers,” Fox said.

Source: Flight Global

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