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Defence

About Defence

Whole Fleet Management - The FAQ


Questions & Answers
Why are you doing this?
The move away from high readiness in the face of the Cold War threat to graduated readiness and expeditionary warfare allows a re-assessment of the allocation of land equipment in peacetime, particularly the distribution of fighting and logistic vehicles. During the Cold War Army regiments were provided with the equipment they would need to deploy.

For several years now new land equipment has been procured in increasingly reduced numbers for affordability reasons. The same is true of technical upgrades to existing equipment. While these reduced fleet sizes might be sufficient to deploy in accordance with Defence planning assumptions, they will be insufficient to enable forces to train for deployment unless the fleet is managed centrally and more efficiently.

Is this going to happen?

Yes. WFM is already being adopted. The results of the current assessment will reveal the precise form which this will take.
 
Won't the training area vehicles’ life be dramatically reduced by wear?

Vehicles in a training pool at any given time will clearly be used much more than those kept in long term storage. But it is in general better to maintain equipment in regular use and store it properly than to leave it garaged for long periods and then use it infrequently. A Defence Land Equipment Manager will ensure that vehicles are rotated at regular intervals through their useful life to even out mileage across the fleet.
 
Is this driven by the Treasury? What savings are you hoping to achieve?

There are efficiencies to be achieved through WFM, but there are also likely to be costs. One of the aims of the ongoing work is to calculate the order of the operational and financial efficiencies, which can be expected, to inform decisions.
 
Will operational commitments permit WFM to work?

WFM will provide a more efficient method of managing military vehicles, making it easier to meet operational commitments.
 
How will units train in barracks and administer themselves without vehicles?

Units will retain sufficient vehicles to maintain the required standards of individual and foundation training. Non-military tasks will be carried out using civilian vehicles.
 
Will units and individuals still be able to react fast to the unexpected? How - without equipment? Vehicles will not be removed from those units on very short notice to deploy, for example the Spearhead Battalion. Other units will benefit from an operational fleet maintained in a condition ready to deploy when required.
 
How will soldiers react to going on operations without their own equipment?

Soldiers already deploy and train with vehicles and equipment handed over to them from other units, as in Northern Ireland and the Balkans. They also train on different vehicles when they go to BATUS.
 
How will soldiers feel about not having the equipment they joined the Army to operate?

Units will retain sufficient vehicles and equipment to ensure familiarisation and core individual training skills. Greater availability as a result of WFM will, in fact, mean that soldiers will have the equipment they joined the army to operate more often than they do now.
 
Will equipment maintenance skills in units decline? If not, why not?

No; in fact we expect them to increase. REME Maintenance workload is the product of fleet size and usage and therefore a higher use of a smaller fleet will produce a similar amount of maintenance. It is also going to be more concentrated and therefore provide a higher quality of maintenance experience. Training and equipment maintenance will be better directed and delivered than was previously the case as it will be easier to plan for that training, rather than rely on simple arising. Vehicle crews will be able to practise their Level 1 maintenance skills using the reduced number of vehicles in unit lines, and whenever they are deployed on exercises and operations.
 
Will soldiers look after equipment they don't own as well as kit they do?

Soldiers already look after equipment that they don't "own" both in training, as at BATUS, and on operations, as in Iraq and the Balkans.
 
Where will you store the operational equipment? Who will maintain it?

The MOD is examining the range and options for storage and maintenance of a deployable operational fleet. The details will be worked out during implementation planning.
 
How will WFM affect the future of DSDA storage sites?

The DSDA rationalisation study is examining the options related to its storage sites. Detailed solutions for WFM storage requirements will be addressed during the implementation planning phase.
 
What happens to the REME, currently serving in units? Will the Corps reduce in size? Will individual skills be retained? Will individuals be able to train with their teeth arm units?
 
The size of the REME is a reflection of the requirement for operational deployment, rather than their peacetime tasks. The MOD is examining how the REME (and other support staff) will be best employed under WFM. There can obviously be no clear direction until the size of the unit holdings is established and this is a prime task of the modelling and trials process. The new arrangements must be capable of maintaining individual skills and enabling REME soldiers to train with their units.
 
Who will maintain the equipment in CHE?
 
The MOD is examining the options for maintenance during CHE storage, but in principle equipment should require very little maintenance when in CHE. Certain mandatory safety checks will be conducted by users/operators when equipment is broken out of CHE.
 
Will any of the equipment be leased from industry or available under contract? If so, what guarantees does the Army have that it will necessarily be delivered as and when it needs it?

Leasing of the main fighting vehicles is not envisaged. Arrangements for the supply and maintenance of support vehicles will be examined during the implementation planning phase. There will be changes in the size and shape of the White Fleet, which will again be addressed in the implementation planning phase.
 
Does the project cover the RAF and the RN?

Yes – WFM is a tri-service project as it covers land vehicles and their equipment. The vast majority of these vehicles are used by the Army, but a significant number is used by the other two Services. Although the project will be implemented in the Army in its initial stages it will apply across the whole of the Defence land vehicle fleet as it is developed.
 
Which Service will be in charge/ in the lead?

Management arrangements are yet to be decided, but the Defence Logistic Organisation will retain responsibility for the central management of vehicle fleets across Defence through the appointment of a Defence Land Equipment Manager.
 
Will there be private sector involvement?

In principle, yes. The potential for private sector involvement will be determined through a future open competition. The Ministry has yet to determine the exact size and shape of any private sector assistance in implementing the eventual WFM solution.

Last updated January 2006.