§ Mr. Cohenasked the Secretary of State for Defence what is Her Majesty's Government's policy upon the statement of NATO's Secretary-General that one country, or consortium of countries, should be asked to design and build NATO's next generation of main battle tank.
§ Mr. SainsburyIn accordance with our policy of seeking international collaboration in weapons procurement wherever this is practicable and advantageous, we are exploring with our allies the prospects for harmonising operational characteristics and time scales for potential requirements for a next generation of main battle tank. It is too early, however, to prescribe an appropriate procurement method for such a project.