New military weapons watchdog will be brought in to equip Armed Forces properly while cutting waste

A NEW military weapons watchdog will soon be brought in to cut waste.

Work is under way to appoint a National Armament Director to equip the Armed Forces properly without any unnecessary spending.

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It was part of Labour’s manifesto and comes days after hard-up defence chiefs wrote to major industry suppliers to identify opportunities for budget cuts.

Industry sources told The Sun the NAD appointment could not come soon enough — as it would bring much-needed clarity.

One insider said: “Right now, there’s a lot of confusion about who’s in charge, which is causing delays and mixed messages.

With a National Armament Director, it would make it easier to coordinate and cut costs without lowering the quality of the equipment.”

It is in line with Defence Secretary John Healey’s goal of a more “economic” MoD.

The appointment of the NAD will be made through a fair and open competition which will begin shortly.

But former Tory Armed ­Forces minister Mark Francois said: “We are not going to deter the likes of Vladimir Putin by cutting our defence spending — whether we have a new National Armament Director or not.”

New Army chief General Sir Roly Walker said there was “just enough time” to tool up to deter enemies such as Russia.