THE UK MINISTRY of Defence has signalled its intent to abandon the collaborative Long Range (LR) Trigat anti-tank missile programme at the end of the development phase, and writing off the better part of some £220 million ($350 million).
The future of the Long Range Trigat was intimately connected with British Aerospace's losing Tiger bid with Eurocopter, which lost the UK attack-helicopter decision to the Westland/ McDonnell Douglas WAH-64D Apache.
Michael Portillo, recently appointed Minister of State for Defence, says: "We have indicated we will leave programme at the end of the development phase."
The UK was developing Trigat in collaboration with France and Germany. British Aerospace Dynamics is the prime UK partner on the project.
The UK will leave only at the end of development so as not to incur financial penalties. The UK had previously considered dumping the LR Trigat project during the development phase
British Aerospace Dynamics says that it is disappointed with the decision. It adds that it now needs to consult with the UK Ministry of Defence (MoD) and its industrial partners over the future of its participation in the programme.
It has previously said that it would be forced to withdraw from the Long Range Trigat if the MoD did not purchase the missile.
The decision is thought likely to cause considerable delays to the programme.
Source: Flight International
