§ Mr. Robert Atkinsasked the Secretary of State for Defence if he is now able to make a statement on Tornado delivery rates.
§ Mr. NottAfter full consultation between Germany, Italy and the United Kingdom it has been agreed that the peak delivery rates for Tornado should be adjusted to 44—from a potential maximum of about 60—for the United Kingdom and to 42 for Germany. The peak rate for Italy remains at 24.
Production aircraft prices have fallen in line with forecasts and programme arrangements protect each nation from the inflation of its partners. Nevertheless, heavy pressures on defence budgets mean that the Tornado programme cannot be isolated from financial constraints. But the agreement reached between Britain and Germany to smooth out a peak of Tornado deliveries which would otherwise have occurred over the next three years will help to ease defence budget problems in that period without creating disproportionate operational and industrial dislocation.
Tornado remains central to the re-equipment programmes of the three partners. It forms a substantial element of our defence equipment budgets and the programme has achieved major advances in meeting technical and collaborative challenges. Four of the six production batches have been approved and 476 aircraft are on order out of a planned total of 809. Over 60 aircraft have been delivered: 42 to the Joint Tri-national Training Establishment, 15 to the RAF and 6 to the German Air Force. Tornado is proving extremely popular with military aircrew and is already showing its powerful operational potential.