UK Defence Procurement since 1997

This book offers an in-depth analysis of the failures of the UK's defence acquisition and procurement process, and the broader ramifications for the UK's national security. The UK's record on defence acquisition and procurement constitutes one of the biggest British public policy scandals of the modern era - albeit one largely concealed from voters and taxpayers. Its recent history is characterised by high levels of incompetence, weak governance and a lack of proper accountability; defects compounded by a 'conspiracy of optimism' that things will turn out differently simply through the power of wishful thinking. Focusing largely on events since 1997, this book provides the first detailed assessment of the failures of this period and compares them with the performance of overseas counterparts, such as the United States, France, Australia and Canada. By focusing on a wide variety of expensive and technically disastrous case studies across all services and domains, the book seeks to highlight some of the key lessons that recent history has provided about the complex network of interrelated factors that have led to so many disappointments and failures in British military procurement. As such it demonstrates how these problems have affected UK national security and its military and diplomatic standing in a volatile and uncertain world. This book will be of much interest to students of British politics, defence studies, strategic studies and International Relations

Robert Self devoted most of his research effort during his academic career to the study of interwar British politics and he has authored or edited ten books on related subjects including a major biography of Neville Chamberlain and a volume on the Inter-Allied war debt controversy between 1917 and 1941. Since his retirement as professor of British politics and contemporary history, he has turned his attention to the study of recent British foreign and defence policy, including most recently his Making British Defence Policy: Continuity and Change. This is his third book published on this subject area.

PART I: HOW DID BRITAIN'S DEFENCE PROCUREMENT GET INTO THIS MESS? 1. Military Power, Weapons Procurement and Britain's Standing in the World 2. British Defence Procurement in an 'Age of Uncertainty' PART II: THE CASE STUDIES: THE ROYAL NAVY AND THE MARITIME DOMAIN 3. The Procurement Challenge Across all Services and Domains 4. Developing the Type-45 destroyer 5. Carrier Strike and the Future Carrier-Borne Aircraft 6. The Astute-class Hunter-Killer submarine PART III: THE CASE STUDIES: THE ROYAL AIR FORCE AND THE AIR DOMAIN 7. The Joint Strike Fighter 8. The Eurofighter/Typhoon and BVRAAM: A Legacy of the Cold War? 9. 10. The Watchkeeper and UK Airborne Early Warning: from E-3D Sentry to E-7A Wedgetail 11. Air Mobility and the 'Virtual Reality' Planes: The A400M and FTSA PART IV: THE CASE STUDIES: THE BRITISH ARMY AND THE LAND DOMAIN 12. Army Procurement: Boots, the SA80 and Bowman 13. Ajax and the Decline of Britain's Armoured Vehicle Fleet PART V: WHAT WENT WRONG? 14. The MoD, the Treasury and Funding Defence Procurement 15. New Burdens on the UK Procurement Budget 16. Reforming Structure and Personnel at the DE&S 17. Tackling Some Obstacles to Better Procurement 18. Culture Change and the Critical Role of Leadership PART VI: CONCLUSION 19. Where Does All This Take Us? 20. British Defence Procurement into the Future Appendix 1: Secretaries of State for Defence since 1964 Appendix 2: Chiefs of Defence Procurement since 1971