Written question asked by Michael Dugher (Labour) on Tuesday, 12 July 2011, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Thursday, 14 July 2011. It was answered by Peter Luff (Conservative) on Tuesday, 19 July 2011 on behalf of the Ministry of Defence.

Future Rapid Effect System

Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the cost to the public purse of the Future Rapid Effect System project has been to date; what estimate he has made of the final cost; and what assessment he has made of the operational capability of vehicles fitted with such a system.

Answer: The Future Rapid Effect System (FRES) programme has been recast from a single programme into a set of constituent programmes: the specialist vehicle programme (including the scout vehicle), the utility vehicle programme, and the manoeuvre support vehicle programme.Expenditure to 31 March 2011, the most recent date for which figures are available, for the specialist vehicles and utility vehicles programmes totals £320 million. There has been no expenditure on the manoeuvre support vehicles programme.The total estimated programme costs cannot be confirmed until their respective main investment decisions have been made.The purpose of the specialist vehicles and utility vehicles programmes is to deliver a fleet of armoured vehicles as opposed to being programmes that deliver vehicle sub-systems.

Secondary information