It’s the Way You Tell Em!

Like any joke, it’s the way you tell it that makes a good one great.

The same goes for the Major Projects Report 2009, issued by the MOD on 15th December, with special regard to the AW159 Lynx Wildcat. The Future Lynx Wildcat is one of our favourite subjects, in a large pool of MoD debacles the Wildcat is in the Premiere League vying for the top slot with Nimrod MRA4, Astute and a few others.

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Future Lynx – Wildcat or FatCat

Not for the first time in its history has the AgustaWestland Lynx Wildcat been the focus of this website or the media in general, and not for all the right reasons.  Lynx Wildcat’s latest foray back into the headlines has been due to vast increase in its development costs.  The actual cost of the Lynx Wildcat project has been open question since it the initial budget for the aircraft was announced as £1billion for 70 aircraft; with a mix of both navy and battlefield reconnaissance helicopters.  This was then adjusted to 62 aircraft, although the price tag remained the same; with the approximate cost for each aircraft being muted at £14million.  Following recent questions asked in the House of Commons by Conservative MP, Douglas Carswell, regarding the costs of Future Lynx, Quentin Davies stated that the total cost is now forecast at a staggering £1.7billion for the same 62 aircraft.  Allowing a sundry cost to each unit for spare parts, training and infrastructure etc, this demonstrates a unit cost, including development, in the region of £20-25million.  Although the aircraft offers a greater capability over the existing Lynx models, this additional capability does not equate to £1.7billion, and not by a long shot.  This also pushes it into the cost realm of the Chinook and Merlin, for a fraction of the lift capability.  In this sense Lynx Wildcat is a prime example of the ‘Law of Diminishing Marginal Returns’; but you don’t need a degree in economics to work that one out.

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Lynx Wildcat: What’s in a Name

When Juliet said unto Romeo,” What’s in a name? That which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet,” she meant that what really matters is what actually something is, not what it is called, or at least that’s what William Shakespeare inferred.

The 24th of April laid witness to the official naming ceremony for Future Lynx (see Think Defence Archives March 2009 ‘The Advent of Future Lynx: Taking a Backward Step into the Future’), it has now been officially named as the AW159 Lynx Wildcat.

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The Advent of Future Lynx: Taking a Backwards Step into the Future

It wasn’t that long ago when the name ‘Westland Helicopters’ used to be associated with ministerial resignations, especially for those in defence. Things have been pretty quiet in Yeovil since then, but it appears that this once cold potato has been put back into the oven and the gas mark has been turned up high.

This latest hot potato comes in the form of a row that appears to be smouldering in Westminster between David Law, Liberal Democrat MP for Yeovil and the Douglas Carswell, Conservative MP for Clacton and Harwich. Spats between the Liberal Democrats and the Conservatives are nothing new, if anything they should be actively encouraged. However, this one concerns the defence of the realm, or the lack of it depending on who you choose to believe.
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