§ Mr. Churchillasked the Secretary of State for Defence, in the light of the 266W decision of the President of the United States not to fund the AV-8B advanced Harrier, what plans he now has to produce an advanced Harrier in the United Kingdom, incorporating the advances achieved in the AV-8B programme and the modified Pegasus engine.
§ Mr. MulleyWe have no current plans to adopt the new technology which has been developed for the AV-8B. However, preliminary studies into the feasibility of fitting a larger wing to the RAF Harriers and making other changes to improve range, payload, manoeuvrability and other aspects of performance have been completed. Studies to refine the design of this new wing are now proceeding.