§ Sir Patrick Wallasked the Secretary of State for Defence what plans there are and what funding is available for the Anglo-Italian EH101 helicopter project.
§ Mr. Pattie:Good progress is being made in establishing collaborative and joint venture arrangements for the launch of the full development phase of the Anglo-Italian EH101 helicopter project. We and our partners are pressing ahead with the establishment of cost-sharing levels and with the preparation of the necessary documentation, including contracts, to enable full development to commence formally early next year. In the meantime we are concentrating our effort on work to reduce areas of technical risk.
The further funding required for development work is still the subject of discussion between the Governments and industry and no approval yet exists for expenditure on the full development phase of this project.