MY VIEW: The Gazette's assistant editor gives a personal opinion

THE news that nearly 300 of the Colchester-based 16th Air Assault Brigade are not qualified to actually parachute because there are not enough planes for them to practice in, should not come as a surprise.

Anyone who has looked into British military procurement will know we are lucky to have enough parachutes, never mind enough planes.

Thankfully, the chances of large-scale parachute operations being needed are fairly slim at the moment, unless supplies of anti-flu medication need to be dropped in.

However, this episode is just another in a long line of embarrassments as far as the armed forces and their kit is concerned.

As a military town, Colchester is proud British forces are recognised as being the best in the world. However, this is despite the way they are equipped, not because of it.

We have had helicopters that could not fly when it was too hot – troops have died because they lacked sufficient air support – and armed forces driving round war zones in basic Land Rovers so unsuitable the troops call them “coffins”.

Look at the Eurofighter fiasco. The RAF finally took delivery of its first planes in 2003, four-and-a-half years late, and 14 years after the Cold War ended. The Taleban have numerous weapons in their arsenal, but thankfully Russian Mig planes, which the Eurofighter was designed to combat, are not among them.

Then we have the SA80 rifle, now heralded as being “the best in the world”.

It should be, as it is also the most expensive in the world.

Tens of millions of pounds have been spent to make it work properly after the original version had a number of niggling faults. Bits kept falling off and it would not fire...

The list goes on.

Take the £2billion Bowman radio system, which replaced the Clansman system. Early problems included it being late and over budget.

Meanwhile, some suffered radiation burns using it, and it supposedly could not be fitted in the Army’s main Challenger 2 tanks or Warrior armoured vehicles.

Oh, and the weight of the radios broke the axles of the Land Rovers carrying them.

Clacton and Harwich MP Douglas Carswell is a critic of the procurement system, suggesting military spending has more to do with keeping jobs in the UK than buying the best at good value for British forces. He has a point.

A UK-built Lynx helicopter will reportedly cost about £14million. The US Black Hawk copter, some of which we already own, comes in at about £3million. Even with the need to fit them out with the latest UK kit, some of which will hopefully work, it is difficult to understand an £11million price gap.

Then there’s the strange tale of a £14million fleet of 25 armoured mine clearance vehicles, which could presumably be used in Afghanistan and Iraq. They are supposedly being sold by the Government at a knockdown price of less than £4.5million.

If people find themselves lining Colchester High Street to honour another dead soldier from our town, it can only be hoped a lack of equipment or air support is not to blame.

If it is, heads should be hung in shame, as well as sorrow, at the Government and Ministry of Defence.