New RAF fleet under fire
The Ministry of Defence faces a bill for hundreds of millions of pounds if the RAF's new fleet of tanker and transport aircraft is to be able to fly in warzones such as Afghanistan, the Whitehall spending watchdog warned today.
In a highly critical report, the National Audit Office said that the 10.5 billion private finance initiative (PFI) deal to provide 14 new Airbus A330-200 aircraft was already running five-and-a-half years behind schedule.
It warned that there could now be years of further delays if the MoD decided they should be "retro-fitted" with flight deck armour and other protective equipment to enable them to operate in "high threat environments".
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Hide AdIn the meantime, the RAF was having to rely on its ageing – and increasingly unreliable – Tristars and VC10s to carry out air-to-air refuelling operations and transport troops to and from theatres like Afghanistan