§ Mr. LlwydTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence what stage of development has been reached in the Eurofighter 2000 project; and if he will make a statement with particular reference to the partnership between the Government and the Government of the Federal Republic of Germany.
§ Mr. AitkenI met my German opposite number, State Secretary Schönbohm, in Munich last month. We reviewed the progress of the EF 2000 development programme with the senior management of the German and United Kingdom partner companies in the Eurofighter consortium, and were assured that first flight would occur in April 1994 and that there are no major technical problems affecting this or other aspects of the development programme. We agreed on the importance of the project to both countries.