WE177 Free-fall Bomb (Hansard, 19 January 1990)

§ Mr. Andrew F. Bennett
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he envisages that the tactical air-to-surface missile, to replace the WE177 free-fall bomb, will have a range of between 500 and 5,500 km.

§ Mr. Archie Hamilton
A number of options for the possible replacement of the WE177 free-fall bomb are under consideration. It is not possible to predict the outcome of these studies at this stage.

§ Mr. Andrew F. Bennett
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what discussions he has had with his French counterpart regarding the possible joint development of an uprated ASMP, as a replacement for the WE177 free-fall bomb.

§ Mr. Archie Hamilton
My right hon. Friend has discussed possible options for the replacement of the WE177 with M. Chevenement. However, details of these discussions are confidential.

§ Mr. Andrew F. Bennett
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what discussions he has had with his United States counterpart regarding the possible purchase of SRAM-2, or SRAM-T, as a replacement for the WE177 free-fall bomb.

§ Mr. Archie Hamilton
None, although this subject was discussed with Mr. Cheney by my right hon. Friend the Member for Ayr (Mr. Younger) in July 1989,