§ Mr. Frank CookTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence what progress has been made with procurement of M3 BR90 bridging equipment; which companies are the principal contractors and subcontractors; what is the timetable for development and production; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. AitkenThe Anglo-German development programme of the M3 amphibious bridge has now been completed. An invitation to tender was issued in February 1993 for the production of bridges to meet United Kingdom and German requirements. Following completion of the tender exercise we plan to take a decision on production in mid-1994. A number of European companies have been invited to tender, including ALVIS and GKN from the United Kingdom and EWK, the German contractor which carried out the development. Interested subcontractors have been advised to approach the potential prime contractors.
The BR90 development contract with Thompson Defence Projects (TDP), part of the Rolls-Royce Industrial Power Group, is approximately 75 per cent. complete. Negotiations are now taking place with the company for the production phase of this family of bridges. If these are successful, production is planned to commence in 1993. The principal subcontractor is Unipower, which supplies the common bridge carrying vehicles for the project.