§ 21. Mr. Willisasked the Civil Lord of the Admiralty when it is expected to complete full tests of the Wasp helicopter; and when the five commissioned Tribal class frigates will be equipped with this aircraft.
§ Mr. C. Ian Orr-EwingWe expect to complete flying and service trials of the Wasp helicopter in time to permit embarkation of some of these aircraft this year. The date at which a particular Leander or Tribal class frigate will receive her helicopter will be determined by the priorities then ruling.
§ Mr. WillisIs it not rather deplorable that these ships should have been commissioned and sent out to their stations without their most important weapons? What is the Admiralty doing to get a move on with this?
§ Mr. Orr-EwingI would remind the hon. Gentleman that these ships are equipped with the three-barrelled antisubmarine mortar, and we are very anxious to get on with the equipping of the same ships with the Wasp, but it would have been very rash, and financially wasteful, if we had placed the production order before overcoming the production difficulties of the helicopter.
§ Mr. WillisWhen will these five ships be fitted with the Wasp?
§ Mr. Orr-EwingI think that we have to wait to see where the ships are at the time, but we hope to have numbers of Wasps in our operational fleet by the end of this year. But it would be folly to send a Wasp to, perhaps, the Persian Gulf if we wanted it to play a more important role in N.A.T.O. in the West.