HC Deb 11 January 1999 vol 323 cc12-3W
Mrs. Ewing

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement on changes to the Strategic Defence Review decision to cancel the final tranche of Trident nuclear missiles; and what value of Trident missile components have been purchased from the USA since the Strategic Defence Review. [65042]

Mr. George Robertson

There has been no change to the Strategic Defence Review decision to cancel the planned final batch of Trident D5 missiles. Since the SDR, we have authorised $100.6m for US fiscal year 99 procurement of Trident missile components as announced in my written answer of 30 July 1998,Official Report, column 453. Some of these relate to the completion of earlier missile orders; of the remainder, some will be required as in service spares and the balance will be sold back to the US in accordance with the Memorandum of Understanding that I announced on 30 July 1998, Official Report, column 453. Overall, our decision to maintain our Trident missile inventory at 58 is expected to save in the region of £50 million.

Mrs. Ewing

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make it his policy to store the warhead component separately from the missile delivery vehicles of the Trident nuclear system. [65044]

Mr. George Robertson

We concluded in the SDR that storing Trident warheads separately from the missiles would be incompatible in current circumstances with maintaining a credible minimum deterrent with a submarine-based nuclear system.

Mrs. Ewing

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement on the arrangements for the provision of spare and replacement parts for the Trident nuclear missile system, indicating in how many cases there is a single supplier of spare or replacement parts. [65041]

Mr. George Robertson

The Trident missile system was procured off the shelf from the United States under the provisions of the Polaris Sales Agreement of 1963, as amended for Trident. Missile system components, including spares and replacement parts, are procured on our behalf by the US Department of Defence (DoD). For most elements of the system, the DoD uses Prime Contractors (for example, for the missile itself the prime contractor is Lockheed Martin Missile Systems) who in turn employ numerous sub-contractors. Because of the nature of the procurement, we do not have detailed visibility of the sub-contractor network, but I can say that for most major components single suppliers are employed because of the high costs of supplier qualification and the low levels of production now remaining.

Mrs. Ewing

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make it his policy to rule out a first-strike use of the UK's Trident missiles. [65045]

Mr. George Robertson

In conducting the Strategic Defence Review, we concluded that such a policy of No First Use of Nuclear weapons would be incompatible with our and NATO's doctrine of deterrence, and that it would not further nuclear disarmament.