Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to improve the availability of armoured vehicles for the army.

There are a range of programmes in place that will improve availability, reduce obsolescence and improve safety and reliability across the armoured fleet.

The Heavy Armour Automotive Improvement Programme (HAAIP) will provide improvements for the heavy armour fleet including Challenger 2, Challenger Armoured Recovery Vehicle, Titan and Trojan. The HAAIP will deliver a common engine and suspension across all variants which will substantially enhance reliability. In addition, Warrior is being upgraded through the Warrior Capability Sustainment Programme which will significantly enhance reliability.

The Ministry of Defence is also working closely with Babcock to better anticipate maintenance requirements in order to take preventative action and improve reliability. The new Boxer and AJAX platforms will both have a fully integrated 'Health and Usage Monitoring System' which will greatly enhance the Army's ability to conduct preventative maintenance and so remedy faults early.