§ Mr. WilsonTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many of the Tornado F3 aircraft currently in store at Royal Air Force St. Athan will be held there awaiting modification and upgrading.
§ Mr. SainsburyAll the F3 aircraft currently in storage at RAF St. Anthan will receive modifications to bring their capability and maintainability to a level comparable with the latest production aircraft.
§ Mr. WilsonTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence on what date the delivery rate for Tornado F3 aircraft was first agreed with British Aerospace; and what changes in that agreed rate have occured since that date.
§ Mr. SainsburyThe delivery rate for the Tornado programme was first agreed with Panavia, the Tornado prime contractor, in 1974. In 1982, following full consultation with Germany and Italy, it was agreed that the peak annual delivery rate for the Tornado should be adjusted to 44 for the United Kingdom. Although there have been some changes since then in the balance of deliveries between Tornado variants to accommodate export sales requirements, there has been no change to the agreed peak delivery rate.
§ Mr. WilsonTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence what is the estimated cost of upgrading the 18 RAF Tornado F2s to F2A standard.
§ Mr. SainsburyThe estimated cost of upgrading 18 RAF Tornados F2 to F2A standard is about £20 million.
§ Mr. WilsonTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence what consideration has been given to the sale of the RAF Tornado F2 and F3 aircraft, currently in store at RAF St. Athan, to Italy.
§ Mr. SainsburyNone.