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Aviation History
2002
2002 - 3199.PDF
FULL LIST OF READER SERVICES VERTISER CONTACTS - 65 EDITORIAL +44 (20) 8652 3842 Quadrant House, The Quadrant, Sutton, Surrey SM2 5AS, UK Fax +44 (20) 8652 3840 email flight.internatioMmbi.co.uk Editor Murdo Morrison +44 (20) 8652 4395 murdo.morrison@rbi.co.uk Editor's PA Debra Warburton (maternity leave) Acting Editor's PA Andrew Costerton •44 (20) 8652 3835 andrew.costerton@rbi.co.uk News Editor Emma Kelly +44 (20) 8652 3096 emma.kelty@rbi.co.uk Commercial Aviation Editor Max Kingsley-Jones +44 (20) 8652 3825 max.kingsley.jones@rbi.co.uk Defence Aviation Editor Stewart Penney •44 (20) 8652 3834 stemrt.penney@rbi.co.uk Operations/Safety Editor David Learmount +44 (20) 8652 3845 david.learmount@rbi.co.uk Business Editor Alexander Campbell +44 (20) 8652 3990 alexander.campbell@rbi.co.uk Business & General Aviation Editor Kate Sarsfield •44 (20) 8652 3885 kate.sarsfield@rbi.co.uk Reporter Justin Wastnage +44 (20) 8652 3863justin.wastnage@rbi.co.uk Technical Reporter Michael Phelan •44 (20) 8652 3843 micnael.phelan@rbi.co.uk Spaceflight Correspondent Tim Furniss •44 (1237) 471960 tim@spaceport.co.uk EUROPE/MIDDLE EAST European Editor Christina Mackenzie +33 (1) 64 23 68 89 christina.mackenzie@rbi.co.uk Israel Correspondent Arte Egozi +972 (3) 9413132 Middle East Correspondent Gerald Butt •357 22 771967 gbutt@spidernet.com.cy AMERICAS Washington DC Office Fax +1 (703) 836 8344 Americas Editor Graham Warwick +1 (703) 836 3448 graham.warwick@rbi.co.uk East Coast Editor Paul Lewis •1 (703) 836 3084 jpauUewis@rbi.co.uk West Coast Editor Guy Norris •1 (949) 252 8971 Fax +1 (949) 252 8972 guy.norris@rbi.co.uk Brazil Correspondent Jackson Flores Jr •55 212439-6062 Fax 00 55 212349-6090 fubar@uol.com.br Canada Correspondent Brian Dunn ASIA/PACIFIC Singapore Office Fax +65 6789 7575 Regional Managing Editor Nicholas lonides +65 6780 4311 nicholas.ionides@rbi.co.uk Deputy Asia Editor Andrew Doyle •6567804309 andrew.doyle@rbi.co.uk Regional Reporter David Fullbrook •6567804314 david.fullbrook@rbi.co.uk Australia Chril Aviation Correspondent Paul Phelan •61(7)40532791 Fax+61 (7)4053 3003 pdphelan@optusnet.com.au Australia Military Aviation Correspondent Peter La Franchi +61 (0) 419 246 620 Fax +61 (2) 62312795 nulka@ozemail.com.au COMMENT EDITORIAL PRODUCTION Group Production Editor Graeme Osborn +44 (20) 8652 3828 Group Art Editor James Mason +44 (20) 8652 4994 Chief Sub-Editor Chris Thornton +44 (20) 8652 4997 Deputy Production Editor Jackie Thompson +44 (20) 8652 3850 Sub Editor Megan Turner +44 (20) 8652 3848 Photographer Mark Wagner +44 (20) 8944 5225 Senior Technical Artist Giuseppe Picarella +44 (20) 8652 8054 Editorial Artist Tim Brown +44 (20) 8652 8043 WWW.FLIGHTINTERNATIONAL.COM Webmaster Sheena Buchanan +44 (20) 8652 4432 SUBSCRIPTIONS +44 (1444) 445454 rbi.subscriptions''rbi.co.uk THE FLIGHT COLLECTION kim.hearn@rbi.co.uk t and Database Rights 2002 Reed Business Information Ltd. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior permission in writing of the publishers -\J J online service at www.rati.com. contains the full text of Flight immBmtmsa International and Airline Business since 1996. Full text of the magazines can also be found online with Lexis-Nexis, Dialogue, FT Profile, IAC and Reuters. Editor Kieran Daly +44 (20) 8652 3837 Reed Business Information Hard lessons Modern defence procurement is complicated, with the need to acquire a capability not just a platform, but is proving more difficult than expected When in 1995 the British Army selected the Boeing AH-64D Apache Longbow to meet its attack helicopter need, it was clear that the service would be achieving a massive step for ward in capability. But it was equally obvious that the army was faced with an equally giant task of ensuring that the Army Air Corps got its Westland-built Apache AH 1 s on time, on budget and in a way that provided a meaning ful operational capability. 'Realising the undoubted complexity of the task, the UK Ministry of Defence, the army and others took a six-pronged approach to acquire a capability, not just a programme. This in itself was a step forward in defence procurement, a shift from the seemingly traditional "lef s get the shiny new toys and worry how to use them later" approach. The six lines adopted were: delivery of equipment; development of force structures and infrastructure; development of concepts and doctrine; training; recruitment and The good news is that the NAO found positive aspects to the programme retention of manpower; and supporting and sustaining the Apache in service. Last week the UK's National Audit Office (NAO) released a report on progress. The good news is that the NAO, not known for giving the MoD an easy ride, found positive aspects to the programme. Deliveries are a little late, but four months is nothing to worry about, while over spend is a miserly 2.5%. The force structure and infrastructure will be in place when needed, and manpower issues appear minor. However, the training programme is way behind schedule - it should have started in September last year but is running two years late. There are issues with the military aircraft release, acquisition of defensive aids test equipment, and the support system is not fully defined. Some of the problems are a result of removing acquisition of the weapons and training packages from the prime contract and making them separate awards. It was intended to compete the supply of pilot and groundcrew tuition, but it was then decided to award the contract without competition to a Boeing/Westland joint venture Aviation Training International (ATIL). The 30-year pri vate finance initiative (PFI)-funded deal was predicted to save the taxpayer £23 million ($36 million). Unfortunately, the contract signed by the MoD means it has paid £34 million for courses not taken because training material was not available from Westland as prime con tractor. Other training problems have incurred a £6 million cost to pay for storing around half of the Apaches after delivery. From the evidence in the NAO report, the MoD has taken a best-practice approach to the Apache, and it should be given a pat on the back for concentrating on acquiring the capability and not just the platform. However, the ministry does seem to have ignored com- monsense in a number of areas. Perhaps the most shocking slip was a £120 million spares package contract awarded to Westland to support the first 30 months of fly ing. That two-and-a-half year period ended on 31 October-last week-and unfortunately, because training is delayed and the number of flying hours about two-thirds fewer than planned, around 67% of the spares spend has gone to waste. The situation is exacerbated by a failure to agree the follow-on contract and the British Army could be faced with key spares shortages, particularly of long lead items. The NAO recommends in its report that more risk should have been transferred to the contractor by linking payments to measures of actual activity, such as flying hours. Having learned some tough lessons on the Apache contract, the MoD should now set out to make sure that it learns from its mistakes and does not repeat them on future contracts. The ministry should create a team or organi sation or invest in some software package that will drive home to all those involved in spend ing the taxpayers' money how to use the funds wisely. Not only should it learn from the NAO's latest report, but also from best practice it has established elsewhere in the procurement chain. For instance, "linking payments to mea sures of actual activity" is a standard way of paying for PFI services, so why not in the case of the Apache contractor spares package? However, on a cautionary note, the armed forces and those around them have a ten dency to perform procedures "by numbers" rather than applying the right processes to suitable problems. This is as harmful as not learning important lessons. The MoD can take some heart from the NAO's report. The ministry has used initiative and escaped from outdated methods of doing business, but now it must ensure that some hard lessons are not wasted. SEE DEFENCE P20 www.fliqhtinternational.com FLIGHT INTERNATIONAL 5-11 NOVEMBER 2002 3
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