§ 33. Mr. Trippierasked the Secretary of State for Defence when he expects to make a decision as to whether to order a fifth Trident submarine.
§ 42. Mr. William Hamiltonasked the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement on his decision to buy the Trident II missile from the United States of America, the D5, instead of the Trident I missile, C4; and what is the extra cost involved.
§ Mr. NottI refer my hon. Friend to the answer I gave earlier today to the hon. Members for Berwick-upon-Tweed (Mr. Beith), Swindon (Mr. Stoddart), Harlow (Mr. Newens) and Sheffield, Heeley (Mr. Hooley).
§ 35. Mr. Warrenasked the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement on the progress of the transfer from the United States of America of technology on submarines and weapons required for the United Kingdom Trident programme.
§ Mr. PattieProgress to date has met our needs.
§ 36. Mr. Wilkinsonasked the Secretary of State for Defence whether he has initiated discussions with the United States Department of Defence or the Lockheed Corporation about the procurement of the D5 Trident submarine-launched ballistic missile system following the announcement by the United States Administration on the modernisation of American strategic nuclear deterrent forces.
§ Mr. NottIn the light of the United States decision to enter full development of the Trident II (D5) missile system, we are studying the implications for our own Trident programme. In order that we may do so on a sound factual basis, we have had informal discussions with the United States Department of Defence to obtain technical information on the new system.