§ Mr. Fordasked the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement on progress in the negotiations for procurement of Milan for the British Army.
§ Dr. GilbertA Memorandum of Understanding for the procurement of the Milan man-portable medium range anti-tank guided weapon system is being signed today with the Governments of France and the Federal Republic of Germany. The Government announced in September 1975 that we intended to procure Milan, subject to the achievement of satisfactory terms. These have been obtained and include manufacture in Britain of all the systems required, following a small initial direct purchase to accelerate introduction into service with operational units.
British manufacture will be undertaken by the British Aircraft Corporation's guided weapons division as prime contractor. Arrangements have also been made between BAC and the Franco-German consortium Euromissile, and accepted by the Governments of France, Germany and the United Kingdom, leading to full participation by BAC in sales to other countries. In all, by the early 1980s, about 2,000 jobs could result for British industry.
As a part of the arrangements the three countries have agreed to collaborate in any future enhancement of the Milan weapon system. We have also decided to carry out joint studies to explore the scope for collaboration in the development of the next generation of anti-tank guided weapons systems.