§ 7. Commander Keransasked the Secretary of State for Defence how many SRN hovercraft are on order for the Royal Navy; and when he expects the first craft to be operational.
§ Mr. HayNone, Sir, for operational purposes, but the Navy Department is co-ordinating the Services' interest in hovercraft and a military version, the SRN3, due to be delivered soon, has been built for evaluation trials which will be conducted at the Inter-Service Trials Unit at H.M.S. "Ariel".
§ Commander KeransWould not the SRN hovercraft be an advantage for use in Borneo waters now, and has my hon. Friend thought ahead about its possible use in tropical waters?
§ Mr. HayWe are considering this now, but I must tell my hon. and gallant 1276 Friend that there are a number of administrative and financial details which would have to be examined in that context.