§ Mr. MacdonaldTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence what assessment he has made of the implications for the efficiency of type-23 frigates of the delay in provision of command automated control systems.
§ Mr. Allen McKayTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence what assessment he has made of the implications for the efficiency of type-23 frigates of the delay in provision of command automated control systems.
§ 60. Mr. DarlingTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence what assessment he has made of the implications for the efficiency of type-23 frigates of the delay in provision of command automated control systems.
§ 87. Mr. Norman HoggTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence what assessment he has made of the implications for the efficiency of type-23 frigates of the delay in provision of command automated control systems.
§ Mr. SainsburyFollowing the cancellation of the CACS4 programme, two consortia were invited to conduct project definition studies in parallel for a new command system. The results of the competitive PD studies have been received and are currently being evaluated to decide which of the two consortia will continue alone into the development and initial production phase of the project. This will mean that some early type-23 frigates will enter service without a command system.
The lack of a command system will restrict the co-ordination of the weapons and sensors although each weapon and sensor will be capable of independent action. Without the full integration of the weapons and sensors the overall effectiveness of the ship will be reduced, particularly in a demanding multiple threat situation. Despite this, however, the type-23 will provide a very much more effective contribution to our maritime forces than the Leander class frigates that it will replace.