§ 28. Mr. Frank Allaunasked the Minister of Aviation how much money has been spent on developing and making the Bloodhound missile; and what are the future plans for this missile
§ Mr. RipponAbout £45 million has been spent to date on developing and proving the various Marks of Bloodhound and their directly associated radars. It would not be in the public 24 interest to give the production expenditure, since this would enable an estimate to be made of the numbers on order. An advanced version is being developed which will offer important advantages in range, height and speed over that now in service.
§ Mr. AllaunIs not this yet another case of the Government spending scores of millions of £s on a weapon which is useless against either missiles or supersonic bombers?
§ Mr. RipponNo, Sir.