§ Mr. D. E. Thomasasked the Secretary of State for Defence (1) if the same criteria were used for counting those North Atlantic Treaty Organisation and Warsaw Pact aircraft which are nuclear-capable, in the chart on the balance of nuclear forces given in figure 11 of the 1984 Defence Estimates;
(2) whether, in the chart on the balance of nuclear forces in the 1984 Defence Estimates the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation shorter range intermediate nuclear 522W force aircraft are counted according to their potential ability to carry nuclear weapons or their actual configuration within the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation.
§ Mr. StanleyIn the case of strategic and long-range intermediate nuclear forces, all USA and USSR aircraft are included in the chart. In the case of shorter-range intermediate nuclear forces, all dual capable NATO aircraft are counted. The Soviet Union does not disclose its numbers of shorter-range dual capable aircraft. The numbers shown in the chart are therefore those aircraft which we currently assess to be dual capable.
§ Mr. D. E. Thomasasked the Secretary of State for Defence whether the figures for shorter-range intermediate nuclear force aircraft given in the 1984 Defence Estimates include any United States of America aircraft stationed in the continental United States of America but assigned to collocating operating bases in Europe.
§ Mr. StanleyNo. Footnote 3 of figure 11 makes it clear that intermediate and shorter-range systems on both sides are only those land based systems in Europe from the Urals westward. The chart therefore does not include shorter-range intermediate aircraft based either in the USA or in the USSR east of the Urals.
§ Mr. D. E. Thomasasked the Secretary of State for Defence upon what criteria the decision was made to use launchers rather than warheads as the basis for the chart on the balance of nuclear forces given in figure 11 of the 1984 Defence Estimates.
§ Mr. StanleyMany launchers can carry a variable number of warheads and we cannot be certain of the number of warheads carried by Soviet systems. Launcher numbers can, therefore, be more accurately compared.
§ Mr. D. E. Thomasasked the Secretary of State for Defence whether the warheads being withdrawn on a one-for-one basis for the introduction of ground-launched cruise missiles and Pershing 2 are long-range intermediate nuclear forces.
§ Mr. StanleyWarheads being withdrawn on a one-for-one basis, as Pershing II and ground-launched cruise missiles are deployed in Europe, will be drawn from the current stockpile of nuclear warheads in Europe, which covers both intermediate and short-range nuclear forces.