§ Mr. BercowTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence what assessment he has made of the number of occasions(a) UK, (b) US, (c) Soviet and (d) other NATO aircrews in jet aircraft used cannon armament in his assessing the need for a Eurofighter cannon. [156973]
§ Mr. HoonThe historical pattern of operations, together with the improved short-range capability of the missiles with which Eurofighter will be armed, were taken into account in our assessment that the minimal value of a cannon on Eurofighter is more than outweighed by its considerable associated costs and disadvantages.
The last occasion on which the UK used a cannon in air-to-air combat resulted in one successful hit during the Falklands conflict. Figures for other countries are not known, but historical success rates for fighter gun attacks 368W suggest a 5 per cent. combat probability of kill for the Allies late in World War II, and perhaps 10 per cent. in the Korean War. While the probability of success with guns has advanced little over the years, the performance of air-to-air missiles is now far in excess of these statistics. Similarly, the modem precision-guided munitions with which Eurofighter will be armed make firing a cannon in Eurofighter's offensive support role difficult to justify, owing to the risk of collateral damage and the increased vulnerability of the aircraft.