HC Deb 29 July 1998 vol 317 cc320-1W
Mr. Cohen

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if each missile on board Trident submarines will carry the same number of warheads; and if he will make a statement. [52217]

Mr. George Robertson

I am withholding the information requested under Exemption 1 of the Code of Practice on Access to Government Information relating to defence, security and international relations.

Mr. Cohen

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what is the (i) minimum and (ii) maximum range of the Trident missile as deployed in accordance with the plans announced in the Strategic Defence Review. [52213]

Mr. George Robertson

The maximum range of the Trident D5 missile is in the region of 6,000 miles. I am withholding further details of the performance of the Trident missile under Exemption 1 of the Code of Practice on Access to Government Information relating to defence, security and international relations.

Mr. Alan Simpson

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many days each of Britain's Trident submarines has spent on patrol in each of the last four years. [52168]

Mr. George Robertson

In each of the last four years the number of days that each Trident submarine spent on patrol is as follows:

1995 1996 1997 1998
Vanguard 211 132 184 65
Victorious 0 169 181 89
Vigilant 0 0 0 49
Vengeance (in build)

The remaining patrol days in 1995 and 1996 were covered by our last Resolution class submarines. The figures for 1998 cover the period up to 22 July.

Mr. Alan Simpson

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what were the reasons for the payments made to the US Government under the heading Trident Refit Feasibility Study; and if he will list the total amount to be paid for this item. [52166]

Mr. Spellar

The feasibility studies were carried out on behalf of the United Kingdom into the emergency dry-docking of United Kingdom Trident submarines in the United States. This has nothing to do with refitting. The studies were undertaken to determine the practicability of conducting an emergency docking and essential repairs in the event that United Kingdom Trident submarines suffered damage or failure while deployed in the United States for their work-up trials. The total amount we expect to pay for these studies is in the region of £850,000, subject to exchange rate variations.

Mr. Alan Simpson

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence when it is intended to roll-out the fourth Trident submarine. [52183]

Mr. George Robertson

The fourth Trident submarine, HMS Vengeance, is due to be rolled out on 19 September 1998.