§ Sir Patrick Wallasked the Secretary of State for Defence what plans there are and what funding is available for the agile combat aircraft project among the three nations concerned.
§ Mr. Pattie:I understand that British Aerospace has made considerable progress towards an industrial agreement with Aeritalia and Messerschmitt-Bolkow-Blohm on the agile combat aircraft.
The Government retain a keen interest in the project and, to assist in reaching decisions on future combat aircraft for the RAF, the Ministry of Defence is undertaking with industry an experimental aircraft research programme. The details of the programme, which is aimed at advancing further our knowledge of the demanding technologies essential to the high performance requirements now foreseen, are currently the subject of a definition study. The necessary funding for the research programme is also the subject of detailed discussions with industry. It is hoped that European partners with similar needs will also participate.