§ Sir Ian Orr-Ewingasked the Secretary of State for Defence if he will re-negotiate the present closing date of 1st January 115W of the option to buy 10 F111As, so as to have more time to consider the merits of the Anglo-French Mirage 4/Spey aircraft.
§ Mr. HealeyI am well aware of the timetable to which the hon. Member refers, but have no statement to make at present on the Canberra replacement.
§ Sir Ian Orr-Ewingasked the Secretary of State for Defence, whether he will not order the 10 F111A's until he has a firm assurance from the United States Government that they will develop and fit to later marks the advanced avionics of the type developed for the TSR2.
§ Mr. HealeyAs I assured the hon. Member on 3rd November, the aircraft we buy as the Canberra replacement will be fully capable of carrying out all the tasks for which it was intended the TSR2 should be responsible, provided that in the course of the defence review we decide to retain the capability for carrying out those tasks. Naturally this applies to all aspects of the aircraft's performance, including avionics.