A new contract to manage the Ministry of Defence’s fleet of lease and hire vehicles will target savings of £100 million. It follows the Defence Secretary’s instruction last year that the cost of vehicle hire was reviewed and reduced.
The £47 million contract has been awarded to Babcock. The company manage the so called ‘white fleet’ of cars, vans, trucks and specialist vehicles on behalf of the MOD, covering the UK and Northern Europe, as well as short term hire around the world. The new contract will help deliver the savings target of £100M over six years for vehicle hiring and leasing.
The initial service within mainland UK is planned to start in September this year, followed by Northern Ireland in October and the rest of the world planned for April 2017.
The MOD uses hire or lease vehicles to transport personnel and equipment around the country, often to areas not readily accessible by public transport.
The vehicles are used for various tasks, ranging from moving defence personnel and stores to support military operations or training exercises to operational taskings such as mountain rescue and emergency support to the civil authorities and the civilian communities, for example to assist with flood relief.
Defence Secretary Michael Fallon said: “Defence has the strongest incentive to be efficient. Every pound that we save on vehicle hire will be reinvested into a defence budget that keeps Britain safe. I want to see us meet and exceed the £100m target.”
The contract offers the opportunity to trigger a change in culture with greater use of scheduled transport services and vehicle sharing. The Army, the MOD’s largest user of fleet vehicles, is already using a car pooling hub at Aldershot.
Brigadier Colin McClean, the Army’s Head of Equipment, based at Andover, said: “The use of lease and hire vehicles is an important part of Defence’s overall ability to both train for and deliver its operational taskings and I know I speak for soldiers, sailors and airmen when I say that we look forward to working very closely with Babcock and in particular to achieving financial savings through the more efficient use of this vehicle fleet.”
The contract with Babcock will cover the management of the fleet, including the procurement of vehicles via the Crown Commercial Services, incident management, administrative services, including vehicle registration, and service, maintenance and repair management.
UK TAKES LEAD IN POLICING SKIES
The UK has taken up a leading role policing the skies over the Baltic states to deter threats such as aggression from Russia.
The Defence Secretary has announced today that four Royal Air Force (RAF) Typhoons, flying from the Amari airbase in Estonia, will join the NATO Baltic Air Policing (BAP) mission until the end of August.
The jets, alongside pilots and engineers, will be on 24/7 stand by to launch a Quick Reaction Alert (QRA) in response to any aggression directed from Russia, or others. Two of the four Typhoons will be ready to take off at moment’s notice to provide security to the airspace over Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania.
Defence Secretary Michael Fallon said: “This deployment underlines our commitment to the sovereignty of the democratic nations of Eastern Europe.
“24 hours a day, seven days a week for the next four months, our RAF Typhoons will be ready to respond instantly to Russian aggression in Baltic airspace.”
This is the third consecutive year the UK has committed to BAP, after rotations in 2014 and 2015. Last time, Typhoon fighters were scrambled 17 times, and intercepted over 40 Russian aircraft. During one launch last July, the Typhoons intercepted 10 separate Russian aircraft, including eight fighters.
Wing Commander Gordon Melville, Commanding Officer of 140 Expeditionary Air Wing RAF, said: “I am very proud to be leading 140 Expeditionary Air Wing as we again provide air policing support to our Estonian NATO allies.
“Although we are all far from our families and friends while over here, our hosts have given us a warm welcome and we are looking forward to working with them over the next four months.”
BAP is an enduring defensive NATO effort that sees alliance members without their own air policing assets assisted by others in four-monthly cycles. The UK’s leading role, which includes operating alongside the Portuguese Air Force, has been welcomed by NATO and its Supreme Allied Commander Europe, General Philip Breedlove.
The UK is playing a central role in responding to Russian aggression in Eastern Europe. In addition to Baltic Air Policing, we are:
· training the Ukrainian Armed Forces in countering-IEDs, operations in urban environments, medical care, logistics and operational planning. The UK has also gifted over £1million worth of equipment to the country.
· making a substantial contribution to NATO Assurance Measures, in response to Russian aggression in Ukraine. Plans are in place to contribute over 4,000 Armed Forces personnel to assurance activities in 2016, including participation in NATO exercises, and conducting airborne surveillance of NATO’s Eastern Flank by committing an E-3D Sentry aircraft to the NATO Airborne Early Warning and Control Force.
· provide reassurance and training support to the armed forces of the Baltic States and Poland as part of the US-German Transatlantic Capability Enhancement and Training (TACET) initiative.
· Deploying HMS Iron Duke to the Baltic sea between January and July as part of a multinational NATO task group which includes participation in exercises and operations.
· Contributing five ships including HMS Iron Duke, HMS Ocean and HMS Pembroke to the maritime exercise Baltops 16, in the Baltic Sea.
VERSATILE VIKINGS’ £37 MILLION UPGRADE COMPLETED
The Royal Navy’s fleet of amphibious all-terrain vehicles – Vikings – have reached full operational capability (FOC) after a 3.5 year journey.
The Ministry of Defence (MOD) announced in September 2012 that 99 Viking vehicles, used extensively by the Royal Marines, would be regenerated under a new £37 million contract with BAE Systems.
The revamp of the Viking Fleet has seen the vehicles fitted with new mine blast protected Hulls designed to offer additional defence should they encounter an explosive device. In addition the entire fleet has had improvements made to its braking and suspension systems. The project has been managed by the MOD’s Defence Equipment and Support organistion based in Bristol.
The amphibious vehicles can be launched straight from a ship and propelled through water before landing for a beach assault. Their versatility across tough terrains was put to use when deployed on operations in Afghanistan.
Defence Minister Philip Dunne said: “The regeneration of these 99 Viking vehicles, which sit at the heart of the Royal Marines’ amphibious capability, is incredibly welcome.
“The £37 million upgrades include improvements to the braking and suspension systems, as well as new mine blast protection to help keep our troops safe.
“These advances have been made possible by the Government’s growing Defence budget and our £178 billion investment in procuring and maintaining the best possible kit for our Armed Forces.”
The forward cabin of all 99 vehicles have been fitted with a Protected Weapon Mount (PWM) which pivots 360 degrees and can be used with either a 12.7mm Browning heavy machine gun or 7.62 general purpose machine gun. Nine Viking vehicles have also been upgraded to allow the firing of an 81mm mortar from the vehicle.
Brigadier Richard Spencer, Assistant Chief of Staff for Land and Littoral Manoeuvre within Navy Command, said: “The Viking vehicles and their crews operated with great distinction and bravery in Iraq and Afghanistan, enabling a high degree of tactical manoeuvre and saving many lives.
“The vehicles’ subsequent Regeneration Programme has been delivered at best value for Defence, with considerable support from a wide range of stakeholders, including Army Command, Defence Equipment & Support, and our industry partners in BAE Systems.
“Viking is now back where it belongs, at the heart of our nation’s ability to deliver an effective, efficient and affordable expeditionary amphibious capability.”
The Regeneration Programme currently secures the vehicle’s service life until 2024 with an option to further extend that date until 2034.