Future Command and Liaison Vehicle (Hansard, 6 November 2003)

§ Lord Bach

We are pleased to announce that the Ministry of Defence has today signed a contract worth £166 million (including VAT) with Alvis Vickers Ltd, for the manufacture of the Future Command and Liaison Vehicle (FCLV).

On 17 July we announced that the FCLV would be deployed with the RAF Regiment and that the contract value would be worth over £200 million. Ongoing work on armoured fighting vehicle rationalisation has led to a review of the initial requirement for vehicles. Consequently, we have revised the size of the initial procurement of FVLV whilst retaining the option to procure additional FCLV at a later date. The RAF Regiment will no longer receive vehicles from the initial fleet of FCLV and the contract value of the initial work has been revised.

The FCLV will perform the command and liaison role and replace the ageing and disparate vehicle fleet within the manoeuvre support brigades comprising elements of the 430 Series, Saxon, Land Rover and Combat Vehicle Reconnaissance (Tracked) fleets. From its planned in-service date of 2006, the FCLV will provide levels of crew protection and mobility commensurate with their roles in an increasingly extended ground manoeuvre area. It will offer protection against small arms, blast and antipersonnel mines. Those in the direct fire zone will contain a self-defence weapon (SDW) that can be operated under armour to provide suppressive fire and surveillance and target acquisition (STA) system will be provided to enhance situational awareness, reconnaissance, targeting and reporting. The vehicle has been selected to deliver the solution to the Armed Forces' requirement for enhanced speed, reliability, flexibility and protection for a wide range of users in combat or peacekeeping operations.

The award of this contract to Alvis Vickers Ltd is excellent news for both our Armed Forces and the defence industry. It will sustain approximately 35 highly skilled jobs at the Alvis Vickers Ltd facility at Telford, and a further 25 within other UK companies. This is the culmination of work conducted 144WA by both the MoD and industry, and is a good example of the principles of Smart Acquisition being put into practice. It is incumbent on the MoD and industry to work together to ensure that our Armed Forces have access to the right equipment, in the right quantities, at the right time and at the right price.