Nuclear Weapons (Hansard, 3 November 1993)

§ Mr. Hutton
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement on the efforts being made and planned by his Department to develop computer simulation programmes and other methods of testing nuclear weapons not involving underground detonations of a nuclear device.

§ Mr. Aitken
I refer the hon. Member to my answer on 2 November 1992 at column53.

§ Mr. Hutton
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement on the military role of British sub-strategic nuclear weapons.

§ Mr. Hanley
I refer the hon. Member to the statement made by my right hon. and learned Friend the Secretary of State for Defence during the debate on the Statement on the Defence Estimates on 18 October 1993,Official Report, col. 34.

§ Mr. Hutton
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement on the contribution made to the military doctrine of NATO by British sub-strategic nuclear weapons.

§ Mr. Hanley
The contribution of British nuclear weapons to the overall deterrence and security of the allies is recognised in the alliance's strategic concept, a copy of which is in the Library of the House. A significant proportion of the sub-strategic weapons assigned to the alliance are British.

§ Mr. Hutton
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether his Department designates a nuclear weapon as sub-strategic on the basis of(a) range, (b) yield or (c) the military role allocated to the weapon.

§ Mr. Hanley
The designation "sub-strategic" relates to the type of action to which the weapon would contribute.