§ Mr. Soamesasked the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement on the effectiveness of the Foxhunter radar.
§ Mr. Archie HamiltonThe AI24 Foxhunter radar, which is being developed by GEC Avionics for the Tornado air defence variant, does not yet meet in full the requirements of the Royal Air Force. A number of problems which have arisen during the development of the radar have contributed to time and cost overruns.
The programme of work is being defined with the contractor to provide the basis for a satisfactory resolution of these problems and the achievement of an acceptable performance standard for the radar. It is the Ministry's intention to agree a firm price contract for the satisfactory completion of this programme.