§ Mr. Soamesasked the Secretary of State for Defence (1) whether the Nimrod AEW mission system avionics are now operating at an acceptable standard;
(2) what is his assessment of the present efficiency of the GEC Avionics Radar in the AEW Nimrod programme.
§ Mr. Archie Hamilton[pursuant to his reply, 4 November 1986, c. 432]: We are assessing the merits of each of the two remaining contenders as part of the current AEW competition which is now nearing its final stages.