Forces training fuel bill rockets

Tag : Fuel Oil Gas

He is understood to want to link simulators in cyberspace so thatpilots can take part in “virtual” missions since“real-life” exercises were becoming unsustainablebecause of the cost of deploying aircraft.
Liam Fox, the Shadow Defence Secretary, called for governmentassistance to the Armed Forces to cope with the additionalunexpected shortfall, which was revealed in a written parliamentaryanswer to the Conservative frontbencher. He is expected to grillDes Browne, the Defence Secretary, today during parliamentaryquestions.
“It is essential that the Government do not take the easyoption of cutting training, because that can only put our forces atrisk when they go into combat,” Mr Fox said.
“Rising fuel costs will put even greater pressure on thealready overstretched MoD budget. This comes at a time when ourtroops are already short of equipment and this will make a badsituation worse.”
The news comes as Gordon Brown is expected to make a statement tothe Commons tomorrow in which he will update MPs on Britain’smilitary commitment in Iraq, including a possible timeframe for thewithdrawal of British troops.
According to Ministry of Defence planning assumptions for 2008-09,the fuel bill will rise to £2.9 billion from just under£2.4 billion last year.
The MoD said yesterday that it would absorb the higher cost of fuelused in Britain, despite the Treasury already borrowing recordamounts to meet its existing Armed Forces spending commitments.Fuel used in Iraq and Afghanistan would be paid for by theTreasury.
An MoD official said that the department was unable to say at whatprice the fuel assumptions had been made. Given that oil has nearlydoubled in the past 12 months to more than $130 a barrel, theassumptions could already significantly underestimate the true costof fuel use this year.
He said that, beyond overseas operational fuel costs, the remainingcosts were managed within the £34 billion defence programmeand “do not affect the MoD’s ability to delivermilitary capability, home or abroad”. He added that the MoDwas committed to making savings worth £2.7 billion between2008-09 and 2010-11.
Experts said that it would be impossible to meet the rising costsof fuel without drastic cuts to the training budget. Some equipmentmay even be mothballed until the price of oil falls.
“I cannot see how the MoD can do anything other than cuttraining,” Patrick Mercer, the Conservative MP for Newark andthe party’s former spokesman on homeland security, said,adding that the figure of £500 million was likely to behigher now given the rise in oil prices. Mr Mercer said measurestypically taken in the past included “track mileagelimitations” that cut back on the number of training milesfor the more gas-hungry vehicles such as tanks. Similar caps areplaced on helicopters and fighter jet training, he said.

Howard Wheeldon, senior strategist with BGC Partners and arespected defence analyst, said: “To absorb that sort of costwill have to involve substantial slimming down of the moreexpensive types of training, such as major flight, ground and navalexercises.”

The MoD is particularly vulnerable to the rising price of oil asits equipment generally uses huge quantities of fuel. Tanks,armoured trucks and transport planes are all much heavier thanvehicles used in civilian life and therefore burn more fuel.

Fighter jets are lighter than commercial aircraft but travel threeor four times faster and therefore use substantially more fuel.