§ Mr. Trotterasked the Secretary of State for Defence what was to have been the particular rôle of the RS80 artillery project; what were its expected advantages over other long-range artillery; and what will fill the role in its place.
§ Mr. William RodgersThe RS80 project was for a multiple free-flight rocket system to destroy lightly armoured targets at long range. Its principal advantage over other long range artillery would have been its greater ability to produce heavy salvoes of concentrated fire. However, the range and effectiveness of our general support artillery in BAOR will still improve considerably with the advent of the FH70 and SP70 howitzers, which are being developed in collaboration with Italy and the Federal Republic of Germany.