07:34 GMT, January 19, 2010 A letter from the Minister for Defence Equipment and Support, Quentin Davies, has appeared in The Guardian newspaper in response to an article which appeared in the paper entitled 'Stealth fighter jets to be slashed'.

The Minister's letter said:

Dear Sir,

Your correspondent's article in Wednesday's Guardian on defence procurement, 'Stealth fighter jets to be slashed', is nonsense personified.

Our new carriers are not 'under real threat'. There will not 'certainly be a big reduction in Joint Strike Fighter numbers'. The article goes on to state 'among other options being considered are: downsizing the second carrier … building both carriers but selling one perhaps to India'. No such fantastic 'options' are being considered at all.

As for the phrase 'at a time when troops in Afghanistan are being deprived of helicopters and surveillance systems', it is about as far from the truth as it is possible to be. We are currently in the midst of a dramatic increase in helicopter numbers in Afghanistan, up by 50 per cent from June 2009 - June 2010, we are adding new Reaper Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) and will be introducing the Watchkeeper in the coming months.

If your correspondent would like a briefing on the real position I should be happy to arrange one for him, or to give him one personally, at any time.

Yours,
Quentin Davies MP,
Ministry of Defence,
Whitehall, London


Furthermore, the UK Defence Ministry also commented the future of the Royal Fleet Auxiliary (RFA) tankers. The Times has published an article claiming that the MOD is to abandon plans to buy six new refuelling tankers for the Royal Fleet Auxiliary - the Merchant Navy - and is instead 'considering leasing, chartering or even converting second-hand ships to save money'.

A full international competition is currently underway for the contract to provide the new tankers. Expressions of interest have been sought from industry and responses are currently being evaluated. It is expected that a number of companies will shortly be invited to proceed to the next stage of the procurement process although it is too early to say how many. It should be noted that through-life cost, not just up-front cost, is of critical interest to the MOD in order to ensure value for money for the taxpayer.

Precisely how the ships will be managed remains to be determined. Suffice to say that the MOD is flexible in its approach to the future management of the ships (as proven with the Type 45 Support Contract and Offshore Patrol Vessels) and will consider all options for future support.

The Times article goes on to say 'People familiar with the MOD's thinking said that the cost of providing new tankers built to military standards could be more than £900 million, whereas buying new commercial ships from South Korea or Taiwan could cost as little as £150 million.'

To the untrained eye, the RFA fleet replenishment tankers may appear similar to some commercial tankers, but in actual fact the similarity is superficial and for a full military specification the actual design is substantially different to enable them to operate 24/7 in a naval task group in an operation.

Where the MOD has roles suitable for outsourcing under PFI, they have already done so; the provision of strategic roll-on roll-off ferry services is a good example of this. A review is underway which may identify other areas in which alternative management systems may be considered, but nothing has been decided and the review is still in its early stages.

It should be noted that the RFA, both its ships and as an organisation, is specifically tasked for military purposes and it is therefore difficult to draw direct and meaningful comparisons with the commercial Merchant Navy in manning or operations. Most of the ships are heavily used and all are available for contingencies at short notice.