More than 90 years after unveiling the world’s first tank in 1916, Britain could be about to lose the capability to manufacture them.

A decision by the Ministry of Defence this month to revamp and delay elements of the Army’s biggest equipment procurement programme, to build a new generation of armoured vehicles, has raised questions over the long-term future of Britain’s indigenous manufacturing capability. The £16bn ($23bn) programme, the Future Rapid Effects System, was described recently as “the most disastrously managed” project in the history of defence by the chairman of the parliamentary defence committee.