§ Mr. Frank Allaunasked the Secretary of State for Defence if he will estimate the additional cost per aircraft and in 265W total of the RAF variant of the multi-rôle combat aircraft above the £3.4 million for the basic unit cost of the common version; if he intends to proceed with it; and how many aircraft in all he intends to purchase.
§ Mr. William RodgersAn air defence variant of the MRCA for the Royal Air Force is at an early stage of project definition. One of the aims of this work is to define the likely costs of the project before any development or production commitments are entered into. On numbers I would refer my hon. Friend to the answer I gave to the hon. Member for Tynemouth (Mr. Trotter) on 11th December.