§ Lord Vivianasked Her Majesty's Government:
What action they are taking to equip the Army with reliable radio communications before the issue of Bowman in 2004. [HL1245]
§ Lord BachThe Clansman family of radios and ancillaries remains the main tactical radio communications system operated by the UK Armed Forces and continues to meet the requirement it was delivered against in the 1970s. Clansman was originally due to go out of service in 1995 but will now remain fully supported until Bowman's in-service date (ISD) of 2004.
The limitations of Clansman are well recognised, which is why Bowman will replace it. Obsolescence is an acknowledged problem with equipment of this age and work continues to predict and address such issues. There are contracts in place with all of the equipment design authorities in support of this activity. Procedures are in place to ensure agreed levels of availability.
The procurement of up to 45,000 personal role radios (PRR) was separated from the main Bowman requirement in October 1999 to ensure delivery of these radios to the front line earlier than would otherwise have been the case. PRR is a new capability consisting of a short-range radio designed to facilitate communications within sections and other small military teams.
Deliveries of PRR began on 23 July 2001, ahead of schedule. The system was accepted into service on 143WA 16 August 2001 and deployed with the Royal Marines on Exercise Saif Sareea. On current plans we expect to achieve formal ISD by the end of the year, some three months earlier than the declared ISD of March 2002.