HL Deb 08 September 2003 vol 652 cc41-2WA
Lord Vivian

asked Her Majesty's Government:

What guarantees RO Defence Ltd have given to provide sufficient propellant whenever necessary, especially in time of operations; which firms currently make ammunition for the armed services; and whether propellant should be in this country prior to its use in the manufacture of ammunition. [HL3975]

Lord Bach

The Ministry of Defence has a 10-year framework partnering agreement with Royal Ordnance plc (ROD), a British-based subsidiary of BAE Systems, for the supply of ammunition which includes propellant. There are robust agreements with subcontractors to ensure that MoD's future requirements are met and security of supply is taken into account when competing all requirements for ammunition including propellant.

The United Kingdom planning process ensures that we maintain sufficient stocks of ammunition to meet current operational planning assumptions; this includes maintaining a qualified source of propellant to meet forecast ammunition requirements.

The following firms currently supply ammunition to the Armed Forces as prime contractors:

  • Bofors Defence Ltd
  • Denel
  • Dynamit Nobel
  • Edgar Brothers
  • Eley Ltd
  • Eurometal
  • FN Herstal
  • General Dynamics
  • Hull Cartridge Co Ltd
  • Leafield Engineering Ltd
  • MilKor (PTY) Ltd
  • Nammo
  • NICO Pyrotechnik
  • Primetake Ltd
  • Pyrotechnik Silberhutte GmbH
  • Royal Ordnance plc
  • Ruag Ammotech GmbH
Whether propellant, as a component of ammunition, should be in this country prior to its use in the manufacture of ammunition, is judged to be a matter for the supplier.