§ Mr. Croninasked the Secretary of State for Defence what progress is being made in the development of surface to surface weapons for the ships of the Royal Navy, and in the development of counter measures against such weapons.
§ Mr. John MorrisA new improved naval 4.5 inch gun is currently being developed and is expected to be in service by the early 1970s. As explained on a number of occasions we have no plans to provide the Fleet with guided weapons to be fired directly by ships against surface targets, if that is what my hon. Friend has in mind.
Apart from attack on the launching vehicle a counter to surface-to-surface 101W missiles will be provided by the Navy's Seaslug surface-to-air missile system, and by the new close range Seawolf and medium range Seadart systems now being developed. Electronic techniques for frustrating a missile attack are also available and new ones are under development.