The Ministry of Defence is failing to meet half of all demands to send essential equipment to British forces in Afghanistan on time, an official report said today.

A combat vehicle designed to better-protect troops from bomb blasts has also proved unreliable, the National Audit Office (NAO) said. The suspension and hub wheels on the Vector (brought in to replace lightly-armoured Snatch Land Rovers that are more susceptible to roadside bombs), were poor, spare parts limited and its underside provided limited blast protection. Commanders had lost confidence in the vehicle and were increasingly returning to the Snatch, according to the report. The MoD has sent back a small fleet of better-armoured Snatch vehicles to meet the demand.

Edward Leigh, chairman of the Commons Public Accounts Committee which oversees the work of the NAO, said it was “surprising” the MoD remains unable to get gear to Afghanistan on time. He also said it was a "woeful state of affairs" when confidence is lost in a new vehicle like the Vector so quickly.

The audit report praised the MoD for managing to transport around 300,000 personnel and 90 tonnes of freight into both Afghanistan and Iraq over the last two years. The supply chain is becoming more resilient, but in Afghanistan only 57 per cent of demands met the MoD’s own supply chain targets for delivery. In Afghanistan, the ratio rose to 71 per cent.

Responding to the report, Mr Leigh said: “Given the length of time we’ve had troops in Afghanistan and Iraq, it’s surprising that the MoD have not sorted the problems with its supply chain out.”

The NAO highlighted that the ministry had approved £4.2billion on urgent operational requirements, including modifications to helicopters and aircraft, better protection for existing vehicles, early attack warning systems for bases and electronic counter-measures. The availability of procured or upgraded kit met or exceeded targets except in the case of the Vector.

John Hutton, the Defence Secretary, told the Commons Defence Committee last month that the Vector is being withdrawn because of "mechanical and technical issues".

The NAO said: “There have also been shortages of spares for some fleets, particularly when the vehicle has been used in a role different to that intended, such as the Mastiff vehicle in Afghanistan.” The Mastiff combat vehicle was originally acquired for on-road use on operations in Iraq, but suffered when it was switched to off-road missions in the rugged terrain of Afghanistan.

As for helicopters, the report said there was a lack of spare parts. This led to “short-term cannibalisation of helicopters in theatre”. The priority for spares went to aircraft in use in Iraq and Afghanistan, meaning that the Defence Ministry was missing its targets for the availability of spare parts for fleets back in Britain. Overall, however, the report found that the availability and serviceability of helicopters on operation exceeded the MoD’s targets.

Pre-deployment training for military personnel, while sufficient, was constrained by a shortage of time and a lack of relevant equipment to train on, according to the National Audit Office’s report. The need to get upgraded and newly procured equipment to the frontline quickly meant troops had in the past sometimes missed out on training with it before deployment, it said. The Defence Ministry had introduced a pool of new equipment to train on “but numbers remain limited to support the scale of pre-deployment training”.

Bob Ainsworth, the Armed Forces Minister, said the assessment was positive overall for the MoD.

"The report is clear about the challenges and pressures faced by the MoD and the balances that need to be struck between prioritising our forces serving on the front line and providing the best possible equipment for training purposes," he said. “We will be looking closely at all the recommendations and where there is more we can do to hasten progress, we will do so."

Liam Fox, the shadow defence secretary, said the NAO’s findings confirmed “the gross mismanagement that has characterised Labour's decade of neglect of the Armed Forces”.

He continued: "Due to a lack of strategic planning by this Government, our armed forces now have to play catch up by procuring equipment through [urgent operational requirements], instead of through a coherent procurement strategy. This leads to shortages of key equipment for training and use on operations. This is unacceptable and could cost British lives in the long run.”

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