§ Mr. Soamesasked the Secretary of State for Defence when the LAW 80 anti-tank system was due to enter service; what is the reason for the delay; and how much the programme is over its original budget.
§ Mr. LeeDelays in the development of LAW 80, which was originally intended to enter service in 1983, stem fundamentally from the changes which had to be 473W introduced during the course of development to enable the system to defeat the likely future tank threat, recently reassessed as containing significant improvements in frontal armour. The technical difficulties of meeting the increased threat proved to be greater than anticipated in a system which still had to remain portable by one man. In addition, there have been a number of management and contractual difficulties. As a result the total development costs of the project have doubled in real terms since the completion of project definition in 1978.