§ Mr. Gerald HowarthTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence what recent assessment he has made of the propensity of the Warrior to engage in(a) undemanded firing of weapons and (b) other actions attributable to design faults in the electrical and safety systems. [186641]
§ Mr. IngramTechnical investigations have been carried out since 1999, following a small number of reported incidents involving the undemanded firing of the Warrior chain gun. The investigations concluded that there is a very low risk of the undemanded firing of the chain gun or main armament. A Post Design Service task is currently in progress with the Design Authority to explore whether any design changes may be justified. In addition, a safety notice has been issued to the Warrior user community informing them of the problem, to ensure the continued safe operation of the vehicle.
Two other technical investigations into the undemanded power traverse of the turret and undemanded operation of the rear door have also been carried out. Solutions to address both these problems are also being pursued by the Design Authorities. A modification programme to prevent the undemanded power traverse of the turret is due to commence this month.