§ 30. Mr. Masonasked the Secretary of State for Air what aircraft will replace the Venom which acquitted itself so well in the recent action in the Aden Protectorate.
§ The Under-Secretary of State for Air (Mr. Charles Ian Orr-Ewing)I would endorse the tribute paid by the hon. Member to No. 8 Squadron, which has been carrying out its ground attack rôle in the Protectorate with considerable skill and accuracy. We are at present considering which aircraft will be the most suitable replacement for the Venom when the time comes. We plan during the summer to give operational trials in Aden to certain possible successors.
§ Mr. MasonI am very much obliged to the hon. Gentleman for that reply. Can he say to what extent the Gnat fighter has been considered as a possible successor to the Venom?
§ Mr. Orr-EwingWe are certainly giving serious consideration to that aircraft as one of several.
§ Sir A. V. HarveyMay I ask my hon. Friend if what came out of yesterday's Air Ministry conference has any bearing on this Question? Is he aware that what a member of the Air Staff said yesterday was quite contrary to what was said by the Minister of Defence in all his White Papers? May we have some information on this matter?
§ Mr. Orr-EwingA number of matters were discussed in the course of the conference, but they were all within the framework of agreed Government policy. Some of the requirements discussed were for future weapons which were unlikely 1208 to be needed until the 1970s. In this context, some matters naturally arose which went rather beyond the time scale of existing Government decisions.