HL Deb 16 July 1991 vol 531 c7WA
The Earl of Munster

asked Her Majesty's Government:

What has been the true cost to the nation of the operation of airborne early warning aircraft, given the losses sustained by the Nimrod project and the United Kingdom's failure to join the NATO AWACS force in the late 1970s.

The Earl of Arran

The Shackleton, which has provided sterling service in the AEW role since 1972, retired from service on 1st July this year and is being replaced by the Sentry AEW (E-3D AWACS). The total cost of its operation over this period could only be determined at disproportionate cost. As announced in his Statement on the provision of airborne early warning for the UK by the then Secretary of State for Defence in another place on 18th December 1986, the Nimrod AEW programme cost £660 million. The estimated procurement cost of the Sentry AEW at current prices is £990 million.