HC Deb 18 January 1988 vol 145 cc198-9W
Mr. O'Neill

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if, pursuant to his statement of 20 December 1988,Official Report, columns 283–84, he will state the dates of the intermediate milestones at which Vickers Defence Systems will have to demonstrate satisfactory progress on developing Challenger II mark 2.

Mr. Sainsbury

The intermediate milestones referred to by my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Defence in statement of 20 December 1988,Official Report, columns 283–4, for the Challenger II mark 2 demonstration phase, are September 1989 and March 1990, respectively.

Mr. O'Neill

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if the fire control system of the Challenger I will be improved to meet the same specifications as the fire control system that is planned to equip the Challenger II mark 2.

Mr. Sainsbury

The fire control system proposed for Challenger II mark 2 will certainly be significantly superior to that currently fitted to Challenger I. Improvements to the latter are under development, but full comparability with Challenger II mark 2 could not be achieved cost effectively.