By ANTARA News,
Farnborough, England : The British government on Tuesday remained tight-lipped about the future of a one billion pounds military helicopter programme, which industry observers believe could become the victim of defence spending cuts.
Defence equipment & support minister Baroness Ann Taylor declined to respond to questions asked by journalists at the Farnborough Air Show about the Future Lynx battlefield reconnaissance helicopter programme.
The 70 proposed aircraft, based on a new, upgraded version of the Lynx helicopter, are due to enter operational service in 2014 with the UK Army and 2015 with the Royal Navy and are planned to remain in service for 30 years.
However, a question mark has arisen over the project in the last few months as the Ministry of Defence (MoD) struggles to stay within its budget limits.
Asked at a news conference at the show whether the programme would be abandoned, Taylor would say only that it was part of an ongoing review of the government’s major defence projects.
“Like most of our big programmes, it’s part of an examination of our equipment and we have no announcements to make on that yet,” Taylor was quoted by Thomson Financial as saying.
The project is one of a number that experts believe could be cut, although another key programme that was thought to be at risk, the Royal Navy’s two new aircraft carriers, has been given the go-ahead.
Taylor was at Farnborough to launch the assessment phase of the Team Complex Weapons partnership between the MoD, missile group MBDA UK, Thales UK, Qinetiq and Roxel UK. The partnership is developing a new approach to buying the next generation of missiles and guided weapons for the British armed forces.
Taylor said UK defence spending was higher than it had ever been, but acknowledged that meeting the British military’s urgent operational requirements was “very costly.”
“Our aim is to get the balance right and learn lessons from operations, to ensure that in the next 10 years or so, we can support operations while developing our capability for the long term,” she said.
Construction of the first Future Lynx began in October 2007 and the first flight of the helicopter is scheduled to take place in late 2009, with first deliveries starting in 2011. The programme involves Finmeccanica unit AgustaWestland, Thales UK, GKN and General Dynamics UK, among others.
The Lynx entered service with the British army and Royal Navy in the mid-1970s and has performed several roles including anti-surface warfare, battlefield reconnaissance, casualty evacuation, airborne command, logistical support and tactical troop transport.