UP to 50 jobs will be axed at a fighter aircraft engine repairs agency in Hampshire.

The cuts will fall on the Defence Aviation Repair Agency's (DARA) engines business unit at Fleetlands, Gosport, Armed Forces Minister Doug Touhig told the Commons yesterday.

Jobs will go after Rolls-Royce Defence Aerospace beat DARA in the competition for a £4.3m Royal Air Force contract to repair and overhaul engine modules for the Tornado. The aerospace giant will carry out the work at its plant in Anstey, Leicestershire, said the Ministry of Defence.

An MoD spokesman said: "This is about making the servicing of Tornado engines more efficient."

DARA will now begin a 30-day consultation with trade unions.

Mr Touhig said: "We are doing everything possible to mitigate the impact on the people affected by these announcements.

"Our current plans envisage that the majority of civilian reductions will be achieved through a combination of natural wastage and voluntary early release."

However, he warned: "Some compulsory redundancies may prove necessary."

Staff and trade unions were being kept "fully informed" of developments through meetings and briefings, added Mr Touhig.

The job losses are part of the MoD's shake-up of the supply of military hardware.

About 850 staff are currently employed at Fleetlands.

Last year the agency won a lucrative contract to carry out repair work on Lynx and Sea King helicopters. The MoD said that DARA could continue to bid for both public and private sector work.

The MoD also announced that 80 jobs are to go at Defence Munitions Centre, Gosport, which stores and processes torpedoes, missiles, bullets and explosives, as part of the same programme.

However, Peter Fry, the organisation's managing director, said that the number of workers had already been reduced by 76 over the past 18 months, meaning that just four more posts will be removed when people retire.