It's been revealed that ammunition undergoing testing for the British Army's Challenger II tanks has a potentially deadly flaw.
The ammunition has a tendency to crack at low temperatures, causing corrosive and highly-explosive nitroglycerine propellant to seep out.
There have also been problems with the shells sticking in the gun barrels and damaging them, and test-firing at the Ridsdale range in Northumberland has left soot and debris in the gun barrel. Both of these things ruin the risk of incinerating tank crews.
To make matters worse, the propellant has been developed not by the Royal Ordnance's Bishopton plant in Renfrewshire, but by a company called Nitrochemie, which is German owned!
The Bishopton plant is the only UK factory producing shell propellant, yet it is due to close by May 2002 following the government's announcement that safe and alternative sources of supply were available overseas at a cheaper cost.
This is clearly not the case in this instance.
A Ministry of Defence spokesperson has said: "There is no question of the MoD allowing, or Royal Ordnance supplying, unsafe propellants to be used in service."
But if we allow our sources of supply go abroad, how can we be sure? In matters of warfare and defence, can we be absolutely certain that no extra 'features' are introduced to the products we are buying? If there's the slightest possibility that one of your customers may end up as your enemy, would it not be tempting to invest in a little insurance&ldots;?
It seems typically British to look around for the cheapest alternative and go for it, allowing our own industry and employment figures to decline. Instead, why don't we look to bring our own game up to scratch and keep our matters of National Security where they belong, i.e. at home.
We cannot afford to put our servicemen and women or national safety at risk just for the sake of penny pinching here and there;
