The UK's Defence Procurement Agency (DPA) has delayed the next programme milestone in its Military Flying Training System (MFTS) contest by three months, as the three industrial consortia bidding for the requirement continue to undergo last-minute adjustments.
Confirming its decision to defer the issue of invitations to negotiate to the bidding parties from this month to February 2005, the DPA says the move will have "zero impact on overall service provision" of the UK's future aircrew training system. A main gate decision to place a contract for the system will be made in April 2006, with initial services under the MFTS framework to be delivered in 2007, says the DPA.
The current phase of the programme is to select a training systems integrator for the entire MFTS infrastructure, which the UK Ministry of Defence expects to be fully in place by 2012. The UK National Audit Office projects that the private finance initiative-run scheme will cost up to £13.5 billion ($25 billion) over the life of the project.
Rolls-Royce last week confirmed its departure from the Ascent partnership formed with Lockheed Martin UK and VT Aerospace to pursue the MFTS deal. The two remaining companies will continue to contest the requirement against rival proposals from Boeing/Thales joint venture Sterling, and team Vector, which comprises EG&G, Kellogg Brown and Root and Lear Siegler.
Last week, Rolls-Royce's former partners said: "The Ascent consortium is focused on ensuring that each of the companies are able to add value to the MFTS customer, as well as to their own individual stakeholders. As the MFTS project has continued to evolve and the structure and scope of the procurement has become more defined, Rolls-Royce has decided that it can no longer meet those objectives."
The reorganisation of the Ascent bid team follows the disbandment earlier this year of a fourth shortlisted consortium. BAE Systems and Serco withdrew from the competition, leaving team mate Bombardier excluded from the project.
CRAIG HOYLE / LONDON
Source: Flight International
