§ Mr. McMasterasked the Minister of Aviation to what extent the Government have given support to the development of the vertical lift principle embodied in the P1127 and the Short SC1.
§ Mr. AmeryThe Vector thrust principle embodied in P1127 has been supported by the United Kingdom Government by orders for a total of 15 P1127 aircraft, partly for the United Kingdom's own research purposes and partly for use in the tripartite evaluation programme which we are undertaking with the United States and Federal Republic of Germany. Further support has been given to this concept of VTOL by the decision taken earlier this year to develop the P1154 and the BS 100 engine to meet the R.A.F. requirement for a Hunter successor. The direct lift principle embodied in the SC1 is in our view more suitable to transport aircraft and as yet there is no firm operational requirement in this field. We are however rebuilding the SC1 aircraft which crashed last autumn and extending the research programme on which it will be used. We have also extended our agreement with France and the Federal Republic of Germany for the continued development of the RB162 engine. As my hon. Friend knows, we are also currently investigating with the Federal Republic of Germany the feasibility of a further research project based on the Do31 experimental transport aircraft which uses this engine.
In broad terms the Government has spent to date about £25 million on research and development work on the VTOL principles embodied in the P1127 and the SC1 and their associated engines. This figure will of course increase very rapidly as the P1154 programme gets under way.