§ Mr. Stephen Rossasked the Secretary of State for Defence whether he has yet reached a decision on the use of hovercraft for minesweeping purposes.
§ Dr. GilbertWe are continuing to review the potential uses of the hovercraft by the Royal Navy in the mine countermeasures role in the light of the extensive trials undertaken and the availability of equipment to suit it for this task. We are currently studying our longer term mine countermeasures requirements, including the possible requirement for a single role minehunter, and in this context we are keeping under review weapon and equipment developments which may be compatible with the hovercraft.