HL Deb 02 June 1986 vol 475 c700WA
Viscount Mersey

asked Her Majesty's Government:

Whether they will explain the meaning of "The Artillery ADP system BATES" in paragraph 424 in the 1986 Statement of Defence Estimates.

Lord Trefgarne

As shown in Table 5 on page 26 of the Statement on the Defence Estimates 1986, "BATES" is an acronym for Battlefield Artillery Target Engagement System. It is an automatic data processing (ADP) based system for handling and disseminating target data which, as explained in the 1984 Statement (paragraph 424), will enable artillery fire to be more effectively controlled and directed on the highest priority targets.