Non-Subscriber Extract
UK plots new approach to MARS
14 August 2007
The UK Ministry of Defence (MoD) has torn up plans to create a joint MoD/industry alliance to manage the GBP2.5 billion (USD5.1 billion) Maritime Afloat Reach and Support (MARS) programme.
The move means the three-way competition for a lead project integrator has been abandoned. Instead, a new MARS procurement strategy is being drawn up that is expected to result in the initial requirement for new fleet tankers being competed 'off the shelf' among shipbuilders across the EU.
The MARS programme is intended to provide the future Royal Navy (RN) fleet with afloat support through the replacement of the major part of the existing Royal Fleet Auxiliary (RFA) running fleet.
Current planning assumptions envisage the acquisition of 11 ships to meet the MARS requirement. These comprise six fleet tanker vessels for delivery in the period 2011-16, two fleet solid support ships (for delivery in 2017 and 2019) and three joint sea-based logistics vessels for delivery in 2018, 2020 and 2021.
The Defence Equipment and Support (DE&S) organisation's MARS Integrated Project Team (IPT) launched a competition in 2006 to select an integrator to create an alliance with the MoD and other industrial partners. AMEC, KBR and Raytheon Systems Ltd were shortlisted to compete for the MARS integrator role, with each participating in a parallel 'assimilation' phase to mature their respective alliance approaches.
A single company was due to have been downselected by the end of 2006 as the MARS project integrator. It was then to engage with the IPT to form an initial alliance to acquire the first class of ship - the fleet tanker - following a planned Main Gate approval in mid-2008.