§ Mr. LeeTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement on the Royal Navy's requirement for a support defence missile system.
§ Mr. NeubertI can announce today that we intend, subject to the satisfactory conclusion of negotiations with the other participating nations, to join a 24-month project definition phase for the local area missile system (LAMS) variant of the family of anti-air missile systems next year. We have therefore decided, after very careful consideration, not to participate in the next phase of the NATO anti-air warfare system (NAAWS) project.
The choice between these two collaborative programmes has been an extremely difficult one because both projects offer the prospect of a highly capable ship defence system. Many complex factors have had to be assessed; particular consideration has been given to the balance between technical performance and programme cost and risk. The United Kingdom's requirement for a SDMS is linked to the MOD's plans to procure an anti-air warfare (AAW) escort ship to come into service at the turn of the century to replace the type 42 destroyers. On balance, it has been concluded that, of the two projects, FAMS offers the better prospect of providing an affordable and capable system within that time scale.