HC Deb 14 December 1982 vol 34 cc114-5
9. Mr. Robert Atkins

asked the Secretary of State for Defence whether he will make a statement on his discussions with industry on the experimental programme for the agile combat aircraft.

13. Mr. Stan Thorne

asked the Secretary of State for Defence whether he will raise in his discussions with industry on the agile combat aircraft the possible total manufacture and the employment implications.

Mr. Pattie

A programme definition study is nearing completion, and negotiations are in progress with a view to placing an early contract with British Aerospace for the demonstration in an aircraft of the technology applicable to a variety of possible future advanced agility aircraft. The agile combat aircraft is a private venture project. We believe the experimental aircraft programme will help clarify the prospects for this and other options.

Mr. Robert Atkins

Does my hon. Friend recognise the importance of the experimental aircraft programme both in terms of its strategic value and the industrial base support that it represents? Will my hon. Friend confirm that the financial arrangements that have been made with the consortium are the same, or confirm those that have been made privately to the industry by the Secretary of State?

Mr. Pattie

I reassure my hon. Friend that at the Ministry we are fully seized of the importance of the project. I did not fully understand the second part of my hon. Friend's question. I am not inviting you, Mr. Speaker to ask him to repeat it, but perhaps he might care to communicate with me separately.

Mr. Stan Thorne

Will the Minister say that should the ACA project go ahead, a large part of the production will be within the United Kingdom and not in America or some part of Europe?

Mr. Pattie

Should the production, as the hon. Gentleman describes it, go ahead, I imagine that the production will be with the British Aerospace industry. It will enable that industry to make a major contribution to the British defence effort, which is something that the hon. Gentleman is not always noted for supporting.

Mr. Colvin

What funds are being made available by my hon. Friend's Department to Rolls-Royce for further development of the RB199 engine, which is required not just for the ACA but for the air defence variant of the Tornado? Does my hon. Friend feel that the development of that engine will be completed in time for the ACA to take maximum advantage of market opportunities?

Mr. Pattie

Rolls-Royce is now working on the Mk 104 version of the RB 199 engine, which is intended for the ADV version of the Tornado. That variant will certainly be available within the time scale in question.

Mr. Wellbeloved

Does the Minister think that it would be helpful if the new fighter aircraft programme could go ahead on a bipartisan basis, and that it would contribute to that bipartisan policy if the Labour Party gave a commitment not to cancel it?

Mr. Pattie

I am sure that such a commitment would always be welcome, but I hope that the possibility that the hon. Gentleman has in mind does not arise.

Mr. McNamara

I can assure the hon. Gentleman of one thing. He will not be in office when the final decisions are taken. In regard to what the hon. Gentleman said in reply to my hon. Friend the Member for Preston, South (Mr. Thorne), may I say that we believe in a realistic defence policy and not one that is based on Massada without the benefits of a diaspora. Will the hon. Gentleman say what time scale he envisages for this venture?

Mr. Pattie

If we can come back from the top of various mountains in the Sinai desert, the advance experimental aircraft programme is envisaged to take between three and five years.