§ 40. Sir John Farrasked the Secretary of State for Defence when he expects the design work will commence for new landing ships to replace Fearless and Intrepid.
§ Mr. LeeAs the Statement on the Defence Estimates 1984 (Cmnd 9227-I) says, we are currently examining the provision of future amphibious capability. This includes the question of replacing HMS Intrepid and HMS Fearless once they come to the end of their planned lives in the mid-1990s. Our studies are examining the overall requirement for amphibious shipping in the longer term, the resource implications, and the ways in which a future amphibious capability might be provided. The latter involves a range of possibilities, and the timing of any design work would depend on the outcome of our current studies.