UK spending $5.5bn to desert-proof weapons

LONDON, Aug. 2 (UPI) -- The British government said Friday it is pouring $5.5 billion into improving army equipment in the wake of a watchdog agency's report of a long list of problems ranging from tanks that won't work in the desert to rifles that work only at night and boots that melt in the sun.

The scathing report was compiled by the National Audit Office following an investigation that uncovered serious equipment problems during a major military exercise in Oman last year by British forces training for desert warfare. It was the largest U.K. military deployment since the Gulf War more than a decade ago.

Armed Forces Minister Adam Ingram conceded the maneuvers exposed "shortfalls and weaknesses" but that a major program of upgrades and replacements was already under way. Government officials told Britain's Independent Television News that $5.5 billion will be spent over the next three years to rectify the problems.

The Oman exercise and the equipment failings it uncovered raised "major questions over the army's capacity to participate in a land assault against Iraq" of the sort that Prime Minister Tony Blair's administration is reported ready to wage alongside the United States, said one military expert.

The NAO report said that in the Omani desert, many of the British army's tanks ground to a halt after four hours in operation when fine dust clogged engine air filters. At one point during the exercise, only half of the Challenger 2 main battle tanks were working.

Investigators also found that some rifles overheated and jammed in the desert sun and would work only at night when temperatures were cooler. Uniforms were described as too hot, and soldiers' boots simply melted in the sun, as did plastic air filters that rendered mobile AS90 self-propelled guns useless, the report said.

"Given that the joint rapid reaction forces are intended to be able to operate anywhere in the world," the report said, "it is a concern that the MoD (Ministry of Defense) does not hold sufficient stocks of desert combat suits to equip the forces."

It said problems also struck the air arm. Rotor blades on the army's Lynx helicopters, which last up to 500 hours' flying time in moderate European conditions, needed replacing after 27 hours in the desert, resulting in the grounding of at least 10 helicopters at any one time.

But the Ministry of Defense, in a statement, insisted the exercise was a "success." It said "this was the first time that many new items of equipment had been tested in the desert under near-operational conditions."

Ingram added: "This was an exercise and the purpose of the exercise was to see if there were any weaknesses, if there were any shortfalls in capabilities. Of course it exposed those things and therefore we then need to analyze them."

"There are major upgrade programs in place, major replacement programs in place," the minister said. "These things don't happen overnight -- they do take time, they need funding."