Cost concerns could force the UK Ministry of Defence (MoD) to reduce the number of Airborne Stand-off Radar (ASTOR) aircraft which it plans to procure.
A final decision on the £750-800 million ($1.2-1.3 billion) ASTOR procurement was expected early this year, but this has now been delayed until around November, with contract signature expected by April 1998.
The MoD is using the interim time period to work with the two bidding teams, which are led by Lockheed Martin and Raytheon, respectively, in an attempt to drive programme costs down.
Lockheed Martin is proposing the Bombardier Canadair Global Express as the platform aircraft and the Raytheon-led team is offering the Gulfstream GV .
Along with the option of buying four, rather than five, of the sophisticated surveillance aircraft, the MoD, say sources close to the project, is looking at whether it can reduce the specification, or even draw on a private-finance initiative to part-fund the programme.
The project cleared a procurement hurdle in March when it was passed by the MoD's Equipment Approvals Committee.
Within the MoD, there is likely to be resistance to lowering the ASTOR specification, given that it has been "hammered out" over several years. Losing an aircraft is also likely to be a less-than-welcome option.
A private-finance initiative could involve industry in supporting the aircraft, possibly to be based at St Mawgan, in Cornwall, offering savings of up to ú100 million. This is liable to prove the most attractive option to the MoD.
The UK MoD also harbours ambitions to persuade NATO to adopt whichever contender wins the ASTOR competition to meet a NATO requirement. The USA is lobbying heavily in favour of NATO picking the Northrop Grumman E-8 JSTARS aircraft to meet the requirement.
Source: Flight International