§ 36. Mr. Profumoasked the Secretary of State for Air what will be the cost in dollars of replacing with American air craft those manufactured in Britain and sold to foreign countries during the last four years.
§ Mr. CrawleyNone of the aircraft which we have asked the United States to supply for the R.A.F. under the Mutual Defence Assistance Programme is required to replace British types of aircraft which have been exported to foreign countries. The question of cost does not therefore arise.
§ Mr. ProfumoIs it not a fact that, whatever the Under-Secretary may now say, we shall have to be given, lent or sold American fighter aircraft equivalent to the number the Government sold to foreign countries before we can really be considered to be increasing our Air Force, which will involve either America or ourselves in a totally unwarranted cost?
§ Mr. CrawleyThere is no relation whatever between the number of aircraft we hope to get from the United States and any number which have been sold to foreign countries. Nor, even if we did replace with later types some of the aircraft already in service, is there any connection between the fighter aircraft we may get from the United States and those we sold two or three years ago.
§ Mr. Langford-HoltDoes the hon. Gentleman mean to say that if those aircraft had remained in this country his Department would have had no use for them at all?