§ 2.44 p.m.
§ THE EARL OF KINNOULLMy Lords, I beg leave to ask the Question which stands in my name on the Order Paper.
§ [The Question was as follows:
§ To ask Her Majesty's Government what is the anticipated cancellation cost incurred by the French Government following their cancellation of 150 WG 13 Army helicopters ordered; and what effect this will have on the cost of the British military order.]
§ THE MINISTER OF STATE, MINISTRY OF TECHNOLOGY (LORD DELACOURT-SMITH)My Lords, I must apologise for the length of the Answer to the noble Earl's Question. The WG 13 is still in the development stage. No production orders can yet be placed by either Government. Cancellation costs do not therefore occur. The decision to discontinue the Attaque variant was taken by France solely for budgetary reasons. As the noble Earl may have seen in the Press this morning, it does not affect their continued participation in the basic development of the aircraft nor their requirement for the Naval variant. At a meeting of the Anglo-French Defence Projects Board in Paris last Monday our two countries committed themselves to the remainder of the development programme up to the launching of the production of the Naval variant in 1972. We had no requirement ourselves for the Attaque variant and its removal from the programme results in some saving in development costs. Moreover, as almost all the work on this variant was to have been done in France, the effect on the United Kingdom industry will be marginal.
I would also draw your Lordships' attention to the position we have now reached on the SA 330 and SA 341 helicopters. On Monday we agreed with the French to start production of the SA 341. We are satisfied that technical 1255 problems on this aircraft have been overcome and that it will fully meet United Kingdom Service requirements. Its export prospects are also good. The greater part of the production will be carried out in the United Kingdom. Work on the SA 330 is also going well. The first jointly produced aircraft have been delivered to the French Army and R.A.F. deliveries start next year. Export orders for 35 aircraft have already been gained.
Both we and the French are convinced that our package agreement offers the best means of meeting our future helicopter requirements. We are also, through the strong links which have been forged between United Kingdom and French firms, steadily increasing our industrial capability in this field.
§ THE EARL OF KINNOULLMy Lords, while thanking the noble Lord for that almost record detailed statement in reply, may I ask him what the latest estimates are for the research and development costs of the WG 13 helicopter, and whether he can advise us when it is expected that this helicopter will come into service?
§ LORD DELACOURT-SMITHMy Lords, I am afraid that I am not in a position to give the detailed development costs, nor, at this stage, a precise estimate of when the aircraft may come into service.
EARL JELLICOEMy Lords, can the noble Lord inform us how many production orders are anticipated for the Naval variant of the WG 13 by this country and France?
§ LORD DELACOURT-SMITHMy Lords, in our own case we are expecting at this stage between 80 and 100 orders, and we expect a somewhat similar number in the case of the French Government.