Mr. O'NeillTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence (1) what expenditure will be required to increase the capability of 1 Armoured Division by 25 per cent.;
(2) what plans he has to improve the capability of units of the British Army other than 1 Armoured Division.
§ Mr. Alan ClarkAs I made clear to the House on 15 October, the estimated improvement in the capability of 1 Armoured Division will result from our re-equipment plans. These include both the introduction of new capabilities and the replacement of a number of older systems. The cost of a number of specific equipments which 1 Armoured Division will field is shown in table 3.2 of volume 2 of the "Statement on the Defence Estimates 1991".
The re-equipment programme affects the whole Army, not merely 1 Armoured Division. A number of the new equipments which that division will field will also be fielded by other formations, as set out in annex B to "Britain's Army for the 90s", Cm 1595.
Mr. O'NeillTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence what criteria will be used to measure the planned increase in the capability of 1 Armoured Division by 25 per cent. by the middle of the decade.
§ Mr. Alan ClarkThe basic criteria will be the fire power, mobility, protection and sustainability of individual weapon systems.