§ Lord Kennetasked Her Majesty's Government:
Whether an operational requirement for a theatre missile defence capability in NATO has been 34WA identified; whether NATO's Air Command and Control System (ACCS) intends to develop such a capability under the "ACCS level one phase"; and whether the costs of these proposals have been explicity presented to and agreed by the parliaments of NATO's European members.
§ The Minister of State, Ministry of Defence (Lord Gilbert)NATO has identified a military operational requirement for a theatre ballistic missile defence capability for deployed forces. Work is in hand to consider the options for addressing this requirement together with their associated costs, including the extent to which NATO's Air Command and Control System (ACCS) can contribute to an Alliance capability in this area.