§ Mr. HuttonTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make it his policy to ensure that all naval ship yards have the opportunity to submit tenders to build the common new generation frigate; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. AitkenFollowing competition, GEC with a consortium of BAe defence systems and services division and others have been selected as the United Kingdom member for the Franco/British/Italian joint venture company to design and build the three first of class ships, one for each participating nation. All United Kingdom shipyards with the capability will be offered the336W opportunity to compete for the build of follow-on ships of this class and, in order to assist them, we are seeking arrangements for them to be provided with progressive and timely access to design information.
§ Mr. Menzies CampbellTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement about the current progress of the Anglo-French-Italian common new generation frigate programme.
§ Mr. AitkenGood progress continues to be made on Project Horizon, the common new generation frigate. We continue to seek a collaborative way forward for the anti-air warfare system for the ship. Following a competition, GEC with a consortium of BAe defence systems and services division and others have been selected as the United Kingdom member for the international joint venture company which will design and build the three first of class ships, one for each participating nation. We still intend to contract two competing international consortia to conduct competitive project definition for the frigate's combat management system later this year.