§ Mr. KeyTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence what assessment he has made of the contribution to the UK national interest of training the army in the use of the AS90 mobile gun and the multiple-launch rocket system on new infrastructure at Otterburn army field training centre. [48675]
§ Dr. ReidMy Department's requirement for Army training in the use of the artillery systems, AS90 and Multiple-Launch Rocket System (MLRS), and its proposals for development of the Otterburn Training Area to that end, were fully set out in evidence to the non-statutory public inquiry into the proposed development which concluded last September. I am satisfied that there remains a strong defence need for the development at Otterburn in order to permit units equipped with these systems to be properly trained.