§ Mr. Wilkinsonasked the Secretary of State for Defence whether he will make a statement on the procurement by the British Army of the multiple launch rocket system from the Vought corporation; whether this constitutes a direct purchase; and whether he still plans co-production of the system including projectiles with European partners.
§ Mr. PattieFour self-propelled launcher loaders have been ordered from the United States. They will be manufactured by the Vought corporation and are to be used for essential trials and training before the system enters service with the, British Army. Discussions with our European partners and industry on arrangements for producing MLRS in Europe are well advanced but these initial four SPLLs could not have been delivered from European production in the required time scale.