§ 4.16 p.m.
§ LORD CARRINGTONMy Lords, I am afraid that I have another statement to make which my right honourable friend the Secretary of State for Air has made in another place. It is as follows:
"Her Majesty's Government and the Government of the United States of America have agreed to establish a ground readout station of the Missile Defence Alarm System, MIDAS. This will be situated at the Royal Air Force Station, Kirkbride, in Cumberland. The text of the agreement is available as a White Paper in the Vote Office.
"MIDAS is now under development by the United States Government. It will consist of a number of space satellites equipped with infra-red apparatus to detect ballistic missiles in the early stages of their flight. Information recorded in the satellites will be relayed back to readout stations, one of which will be at Kirk-bride. This information will complement that provided by the ballistic missile early warning radar system. It will give even earlier warning than the B.M.E.W.S. system; and will make it even more difficult for an enemy to launch a successful surprise attack on Western strategic deterrent forces. Our contribution to this new system will thus be of direct value to the R.A.F., the U.S.A.F. and the forces of our other N.A.T.O. allies.
"Kirkbride will be commanded and operated by the Royal Air Force. Warning information from the MIDAS satellites will be available simultaneously to Operations Centres in the United Kingdom and the United States and to the Supreme Allied Commander, Europe.
687 "The United States will provide and install the special equipment for the station and the communications required to link it with the United States. The United States will also defray, in the first instance, the cost of the technical works services required to make the station operational. The United Kingdom will repay these costs, within an agreed limit, after the station becomes operational.
"The United Kingdom will provide the land, domestic accommodation, and certain existing buildings as well as the communications and equipment required to link the station with our own authorities.
"The cost of spare parts for the special equipment provided by the United States will be borne by the United States Government, for the first five years of operation. The cost of maintaining this equipment on the site will be borne by the United Kingdom Government, as will the other running costs of the station.
"The capital cost of the station to this country is expected to be in the region of £2 million to £3 million. Its capital cost to the United States is expected to be about £10 million. This latter figure, is, of course, a very small part of the projected United States expenditure on the system as a whole. The United States Government have already allotted £150 million for MIDAS, of which well over half has already been spent."
VISCOUNT ALEXANDER OF HILLS-BOROUGHMy Lords, generally speaking, I am quite sure the whole House will welcome the statement which has been made on behalf of the Government on this matter. The expansion of the usefulness of this system is wholly desirable, if we are going to have to rely upon that kind of operation at all, and it has got to be expanded to its full use. I am not at all sure whether the estimated cost shown here has already been included in the Estimates but it does not seem to be unreasonable in relation to the expenditure as a whole. What one is most anxious about in these matters, whether it is about recruiting or these things, is exactly what the Chancellor of the Exchequer is going to do with regard to our general expenditure in 688 these defence matters and overseas. I am a little anxious about that point.
LORD REAMy Lords, in addition to what the noble Viscount has said may I ask one question? I think the First Lord of the Admiralty said that warning information will be given simultaneously to the Supreme Commander of Europe and others. Could he, if security allows, say whether that warning will be instantaneous, or passed on by trunk calls or something.
§ LORD CARRINGTONAs near instantaneous as possible, but I cannot exactly say what the time lag would be. The time factor in all these matters is so very short that it is essential to be as near instantaneous as possible.
With regard to what the noble Viscount the Leader of the Opposition has said, this, of course, has come up since the Air Estimates were introduced, so this is extra to the published Air Estimates; but I very much agree with what he says. Taking into consideration the amount of money which the United States has spent on this system, I think the United Kingdom Government have got a good bargain for a relatively small expenditure of money.