MoD announces new industry partnership

Industry is to work in partnership with the Ministry of Defence to deliver more effective logistic and infrastructure support for military operations and exercises across the world.

Kellogg Brown and Root (KBR) have been chosen as preferred bidder for a seven-year partnering arrangement, under which the company will work alongside the MOD's Permanent Joint Headquarters (PJHQ) to identify and assess commercial suppliers for a wide range of support services.

The KBR and PJHQ partnering team will act as a “one-stop shop”, responsible for ensuring support services are deployed rapidly and reliably wherever in the world they are required.

Defence Minister Ivor Caplin said: "This new partnering relationship with KBR will lead to a better understanding of PJHQ's requirements for operations and exercises, allow us to introduce commercial innovations, encourage greater responsiveness from industry, and offer the MOD better value for money.

"Contractors have been used routinely to support our activities across the world for many years, and other nations, including the United States and Canada, have already demonstrated the benefits that flow from bringing this activity under the umbrella of a single Prime Contract.

"This new partnering arrangement is consistent with the lessons learned from the recent Iraq conflict and earlier operations, and should do much to ensure our front line forces receive the logistic and infrastructure support they require in future."

(gmcg)