§ Mr. Leslie Huckfieldasked the Minister of State for Defence what representations he has received from the British Airline Pilots Association about the Linesman/Mediator project; and what reply he has sent.
§ Mr. LambtonNone.
§ Mr. Leslie Huckfieldasked the Minister of State for Defence what is the contribution of the Linesman/Mediator project to the United Kingdom's nuclear retaliatory capacity.
§ Mr. LambtonLinesman is part of the United Kingdom's defence system against manned aircraft: it has no other connection with the United Kingdom's nuclear retaliatory capacity.
§ Mr. Leslie Huckfieldasked the Minister of State for Defence what is the area of ground space which will be occupied by the Plessey XL series of computers as part of the Linesman/Mediator project.
§ Mr. LambtonAbout 1,600 square yards.
§ Mr. Leslie Huckfieldasked the Minister of State for Defence what links will the Linesman/Mediator project have with the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation systems as part of the early warning procedures.
§ Mr. LambtonEarly warning information will be automatically exchanged between the Linesman and the N.A.T.O. 257W Air Defence Ground Environment systems.
§ Mr. Leslie Huckfieldasked the Minister of State for Defence what basic design changes were necessitated in the Linesman/Mediator project by the cancellation of the Blue Streak; and whether he will make a statement.
§ Mr. LambtonNone.
§ Mr. Leslie Huckfieldasked the Minister of State for Defence what use is made of germanium transistors in the Linesman part of the Linesman Mediator project; and whether he will make a statement.
§ Mr. LambtonExtensive use is made of germanium transistors in the Linesman system. They are satisfactory for their task.
§ Mr. Leslie Huckfieldasked the Minister of State for Defence what degree of human intervention is necessary in the use of the radar dishes for the Linesman Mediator project; and why a computer-control system is not installed.
§ Mr. LambtonThe operation of Linesman radars is largely automatic and computers are used extensively but control and supervision is provided by humans.
§ Mr. Leslie Huckfieldasked the Minister of State for Defence how many service personnel and staff will be required in the continuous operation of the Linesman part of the Linesman/Mediator project.
§ Mr. LambtonAbout 1,500–2,000 Service personnel will be required to operate and maintain the Linesman system.
§ Mr. Leslie Huckfieldasked the Minister of State for Defence what computer program language will be used on the Linesman part of the Linesman/Mediator project; and how this will be interchangeable with those of other North Atlantic Treaty Organisation countries' systems.
§ Mr. LambtonCORAL. This is compatible with the high level language used in the N.A.T.O. Air Defence Ground Environment.
§ Mr. Leslie Huckfieldasked the Minister of State for Defence what provision has been made in the Linesman Mediator pro- 258W ject for a full-back system on a national scale against the possibility of either accidental failure or nuclear or conventional-weapon destruction.
§ Mr. LambtonLinesman incorporates appropriate standby facilities.