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Lengthy delays to a £3.2bn battlefield communications system have forced the British Army to extend the life of the ageing one it was due to replace by up to a decade, raising the risk of an enemy intercepting critical information.
The next-generation system, known as Morpheus, had been due to enter service from the middle of this decade, replacing the Bowman radio technology first introduced more than 20 years ago.
James Cartlidge, defence procurement minister, revealed in a written statement last month that Bowman’s out-of-service date had been “extended out to no later than 2035, and no earlier than 2031, to bridge the capability gap until Morpheus delivers”.
Responding to parliamentary questions put forward by John Healey, shadow defence secretary, Cartlidge said Bowman had already been upgraded several times and would be again as a result of the delay to Morpheus.
Defence analysts, however, warned that the ongoing delay to its deployment could leave British forces relying on insecure communications on the battlefield.
“The core Bowman architecture is already 25 years old — by 2035, even with some updates, it’ll be ancient,” said Francis Tusa, editor of the Defence Analysis newsletter. “Aspects of Bowman are already not secure and have low data rates to pass information. By 2035, the system will be . . . insecure and not fit for purpose.”
Morpheus has been described as the “brain” of the army’s future armoured vehicles and a wider network linking infantry with commanders, sensors and weapons.
But it has become mired in delays. In mid-December the government abandoned a £395mn contract with General Dynamics, the US defence company which had the lead on designing an open architecture programme for the transition from Bowman, for which it is also the main contractor.
Earlier that month, the government revealed it had spent just under £770mn in total on Morpheus.
The new system involves the development of both software and hardware, including battlefield radios, and its open architecture is meant to give the army greater flexibility for future upgrades by allowing other bidders to compete for contracts.
The latest setback adds to a growing list of weapons programmes that have been hit by long delays and gone over budget.
Mark Francois, Conservative MP and former armed forces minister, said Morpheus had been an “unmitigated disaster; already years late and now potentially over a further decade away from finally entering front-line service”.
He likened it to the situation with Ajax, the Army’s long-delayed £5.5bn armoured vehicle programme, for which General Dynamics is also the main contractor.
“Morpheus is now surpassing Ajax — which was, ironically, designed to carry it — as one of the greatest procurement debacles in the history of the modern British Army,” he said.
Maria Eagle, Labour’s shadow defence procurement minister, said the government had “poured £766mn of taxpayer’s money down the drain on Morpheus with little to nothing to show for it”.
The Ministry of Defence said: “Bowman continues to provide secure communications on the battlefield. Having already received several upgrades, Bowman will be updated again, ensuring that the army continues to operate a secure and capable communications system.”
General Dynamics declined to comment.
Meanwhile, a cross-party group of MPs on Sunday warned that British troops’ ability to fight at “high intensity” would be in doubt as long as shortages of personnel and equipment persisted.
In a highly critical report, the House of Commons defence committee said that although the UK’s armed forces had “deployed above their capacity in response to the worsening security situation”, every branch had “capability shortfalls and stockpile shortages” and was “losing personnel faster than they can recruit”.
Troops were also “consistently overstretched”, the committee said, which “negatively impacted retention as well as delaying the development of warfighting readiness”.
The MoD said the armed forces were “always ready to protect and defend the UK”, and that boosting recruitment and retention was a “top priority”.
