§ Mr. Andrew MacKayTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether he is yet in a position to make a statement on 155 mm self-propelled howitzers for the Army.
§ Mr. SainsburyFollowing careful evaluation and extensive discussions of the competitive proposals put forward by industry to replace the 105 mm Abbot self-propelled howitzers, I have decided to place a contract with Vickers Shipbuilding and Engineering Limited for further work on its AS 90 155 mm howitzer. This contract, worth some £4 million, will be to finance additional work designed to demonstrate more fully the performance of VSEL's design to the British Army's specification. It will at the same time secure the Ministry of Defence option prices for any subsequent production orders. Pending a final decision on production we shall, however, continue to monitor the development in the United States of improvements to the current M109 howitzer.
We intend in this way to preserve the benefits of the original competition whilst creating a sound basis on which a decision on full production can be made early next year.