§ Sir Ian Gilmourasked the Secretary of State for Defence if, when the Multilift chainlift system procured by his Department in 1975 was trialled at the central ordnance depot at COD Bicester, it was invariably able to pick up its load on the parade ground there; and if he will make a statement
§ Mr. Archie HamiltonThe Department has no record of how the Multilift equipment performed when it was demonstrated at a materials handling exhibition held at COD Bicester in 1975.
§ Sir Ian Gilmourasked the Secretary of State for Defence what specific trials objectives were set for the Multilift chainlift system procured in 1975; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. Archie HamiltonThe purpose of trials was to try out the chainlift system as part of the Army Department's examination of demountable body systems for the movement of bulk loads.
§ Sir Ian Gilmourasked the Secretary of State for Defence if his Department procured any other DROPS equipment from Multilift prior to the procurement of the Multilift chainlift equipment in 1975; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. Archie HamiltonNo bulk load lifting equipment was purchased from Multilift by the Army Department before 1975.
§ Sir Ian Gilmourasked the Secretary of State for Defence what was the relationship between the Multilift chainlift trials in 1975 and the study undertaken by the fighting vehicles research and development establishment in 1969; what subsequent studies, concept papers or other documents were produced on this subject; on what dates; and if he will make a statement.
103W
§ Mr. Archie HamiltonThe trials of the Multilift chainlift equipment in 1975 were carried out as part of the Army Department's study of the possible military application of demountable body systems for the movement of bulkloads which had been recommended by the fighting vehicles research and development establishment's study report in 1969. The Department's study of logistics requirements, concepts of operating and load handling methods continued during the subsequent period, leading to the emergence of the DROPS concept in 1979–80 and the formulation of the general staff target in 1982. Papers were produced for the relevant departmental committees during that period as and when decisions were required.
§ Sir Ian Gilmourasked the Secretary of State for Defence whether the Multilift chainlift system purchased for trials in 1975 was expected to be capable of operating in rough terrain; whether Multilift represented the equipment as having such rough terrain capability; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. Archie HamiltonNo.
§ Sir Ian Gilmourasked the Secretary of State for Defence what was the purpose for which Multilift trials equipment was purchased in 1975; if the handling requirement was solely to pick up loads on hard and level ground; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. Archie HamiltonThe equipment was purchased to enable the Army Department to try out the chainlift system as part of its examination of demountable body systems for the movement of bulk loads. Its use for picking up loads on other than hard and level ground was not then envisaged.
§ Sir Ian Gilmourasked the Secretary of State for Defence what follow up there was to the fighting vehicles research and development establishment study in 1969 which initiated the DROPS concept; how long the gaps in development were; what were the reasons for such gaps; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. Archie HamiltonThe study by the fighting vehicles research and development establishment in 1969 did not initiate the DROPS concept as such. It recommended further study of the possible military application of demountable body systems for the movement of bulk loads. This further study, involving the consideration of logistics requirements, concepts of operating and load handling methods, was a continuing process during the 1970s leading to the emergence of the DROPS concept in 1979–80 and the formulation of the general staff target in 1982.
§ Sir Ian Gilmourasked the Secretary of State for Defence for which of the situations in which the Army would need to use a rough terrain demountable body system in the field the Multilift chainlift system trialled in 1975 was suitable and for which it was not suitable; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. Archie HamiltonThe Multilift chainlift system tried out in 1975 would have been suitable for handling loads on level and firm ground in the field, but not on rough terrain. However, at that stage the use of such a system on rough terrain was not envisaged.
§ Sir Ian Gilmourasked the Secretary of State for Defence what lessons were learned from the trials of the 104W Multilift chainlift system in 1975; how these lessons were reflected in the choice of the next generation of trials and trials equipment; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. Archie HamiltonThe trials provided practical experience of the chainlift method of lifting bulk loads and thereby contributed to the development of the Army Department's thinking on the use of demountable body systems. The purpose of the next series of trials was to provide practical experience of the hooklift method.
§ Sir Ian Gilmourasked the Secretary of State for Defence what were the lessons learned from the 1975 trials of a Multilift chainlift system in relation to the suitability of such a system for DROPS use; what DROPS concept papers were produced as a result of those trials; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. Archie HamiltonThe trials provided practical experience of the chainlift method of lifting bulk loads and thereby contributed to the development of the Army Department's thinking on the use of demountable body systems. No DROPS concept papers were produced as a result of those trials.
§ Sir Ian Gilmourasked the Secretary of State for Defence how long precisely the trials of the 1975 Multilift chainlift equipment lasted; what were the dates and main conclusions of any trials reports produced; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. Archie HamiltonInformation on the precise duration of the trials is not now available, but they are thought to have lasted about seven months. No report was produced specifically on the trials of that equipment.
§ Sir Ian Gilmourasked the Secretary of State for Defence if he will state the cost of the 1975 DROPS trials including the cost of the Multilift chainlift equipment; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. Archie HamiltonInformation on the cost of the trials of the chainlift equipment purchased from Multilift in 1975 is not available. It would be contrary to normal practice to disclose the cost of the equipment.
§ Sir Ian Gilmourasked the Secretary of State for Defence if he will state the total cost of the 1984–85 DROPS trials, including the cost of procuring the equipment; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. Archie HamiltonThe total procurement costs of the trials equipment was some £4..6 million: intramural costs of the field and detailed engineering trials undertaken in BAOR and RARDE Chertsey respectively were part of the total activity costs of the establishments concerned.
§ Sir Ian Gilmourasked the Secretary of State for Defence by what administrative or management process his Department's DROPS programme was funded, authorised and carried out between the date identified as the start of the programme in 1969 and the date given for the first formal tasking in 1982; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. Archie HamiltonThe DROPS procurement programme started formally in 1982 with the establishment of the staff requirement. The exploratory and conceptual work undertaken by the Army's logistic and scientific staffs prior to this date was funded in the normal way from resources available to them for these purposes generally.