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Armed Forces: Combined Aerial Target Service

My right honourable friend the Minister of State for the Armed Forces (Adam Ingram) has made the following Written Ministerial Statement. I am pleased to announce that, following a competition, QinetiQ has been selected as the preferred bidder to supply and operate the subsonic target element of the Combined Aerial Target Service (CATS) programme. Contract award is expected to take place after a period of final negotiations. This decision marks a significant step forward for the CATS project. This project will provide a rationalised supplier base for MoD and will produce savings in the order of 10 per cent of the total cost over the 20-year life of the contract. It will also mean we have a single provider for subsonic aerial targets. The contract we intend to place will be for a contractor owned and operated service. The preferred bidder will supply and operate subsonic aerial targets for the Armed Forces, working with the MoD aerial targets systems integrated project team (ATS IPT). Supersonic aerial targets will be procured by the ATS IPT from the US.