§ Mrs. FitzsimonsTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement on the use of the Warrior armoured vehicle. [141259]
§ Mr. SpellarA number of precautionary operating restrictions have been put in place on the use of the Warrior Armoured Vehicle. Over the past nine months there have been three separate incidents of a failure in the drive shaft system of Warrior vehicles. Damage has also been found in a further four vehicles following a fleet-wide inspection programme that was initiated following a failure in February. The most recent failure occurred on 17 November 2000. Prior to this year Warrior had experienced only two similar failures since entering service in 1987.
The particular problem concerns the universal joint of the drive shaft system. On each occasion the joint has broken causing a loss of drive, braking and steering to the left-hand track of the vehicle. In view of the potential safety implications of further failures restrictions have been introduced. The main restrictions are the introduction of a 30 kph speed limit, limited use on public roads and an increase in the frequency of inspections.
Work on a technical solution is well advanced and trials of a modification are under way. If these trials prove successful, delivery and fitting of modified drive shafts is expected to begin in March 2001 with all 786 vehicles expected to be converted by August 2001.