THE Ministry of Defence is this week expected to fudge a long-awaited decision on a new generation of fighting vehicles for the British Army.

Defence officials were expected to announce which of three vehicles had been chosen for the Fres (Future Rapid Effect System) programme. Some £16 billion will be spent on up to 3,000 vehicles in the next decade.

But defence industry executives now expect the evalution period for the short-listed vehicles to be extended instead.

It was unclear this weekend whether all three vehicles would be retained. One senior source said that two contenders – the Piranha, made by America’s General Dynamics, and the VBCI, made by France’s Nexter, would be taken forward, with the Boxer, a German-Dutch candidate, dropped.

The delay in picking a winner backs up trade press reports of a split over which should be chosen. Lord Drayson, the defence procurement minister who resigned unexpectedly this month, was understood to be eager to buy the French vehicle, but generals and other defence officials reportedly wanted the American design.

Drayson resigned on November 7, saying he wanted to further his career as a motor racing driver. A former pharmaceuticals and biotech entrepreneur, he had been defence procurement minister since May 2005.

His departure has also delayed other decisions.

Plans to unveil an updated version of the MoD’s Defence Industrial Strategy this month have been put on hold. It is not now expected to be published until next year. Drayson was the architect of the original strategy, which proposed industry ration-alisation and a collaborative approach to projects.

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