§ Mr. Murphyasked the Secretary of State for Defence whether he is yet in a position to make an announcement regarding the future of the Alarm project and its necessary funding.
§ Mr. Pattie:No. A formal request for proposals has been issued, on a competitive basis, to a number of contractors to meet the RAF's need for an active defence suppression weapon. The contractors preparing responses include British Aerospace dynamics group's Hatfield division, which will be proposing its air launch anti-radar missile system. Not until the proposals have been received and evaluated in several months' time will it be possible to make any statement about the likely outcome or to allocate funds.