Nearly £9.5m written off as Phase 2 of RAF command and control system cancelled

· Forces News
Initial operating capability for Project Guardian was declared at RAF Boulmer in 2022 (Picture: MOD)

The second phase of Project Guardian, a Royal Air Force command and control system developed to protect British and Nato airspace, has been cancelled by the Ministry of Defence.

It has been written off as a £9,476,000 constructive loss in the MOD's annual report and accounts for 2025 to 2026, a written answer from Luke Pollard revealed.

The Defence Readiness & Industry Minister had been asked for further information on the cancellation and loss by Ben Obese-Jecty, the Conservative MP for Huntingdon.

Mr Pollard said: "Project Guardian is a Royal Air Force advanced command and control system developed to protect UK and Nato airspace.

"A strategic decision was taken to cancel the second phase of this system, UKV2."

Constructive loss

"A number of factors led to the cancellation, including evolving capability requirements, the increased technical complexity in delivering a compliant solution and a wider reprioritisation of capabilities across the portfolio," he explained.

"The constructive loss reflects historical project costs for activities that had been undertaken during the demonstration and manufacture phase of the programme."

A constructive loss is a term used in accounting to refer to money that has been spent on a project which cannot be recovered because the programme has been cancelled.

Government departments are required to disclose these figures in their annual accounts.

Project Guardian supports the continued early detection and rapid response to potential hostile or suspect aircraft that pose a threat to UK sovereignty.

Initial operating capability was declared at the Control and Reporting Centre at RAF Boulmer in Northumberland in 2022.

The system is also operating at 78 Squadron at Swanwick in Hampshire.