§ Mr. MansTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence what is the in-service date for the first Apache helicopters his Department proposes to purchase for use by the British Army. [36094]
§ Mr. ArbuthnotSubject to the negotiation of satisfactory contract terms, we expect Apache to enter service around the end of this decade.
§ Mr. MansTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence what steps his Department will take to ascertain that the additional defence work for British industry provided by Westland's US Sub-contractors following the decision to purchase Apache attack helicopters will be directly the result of that decision. [36096]
§ Mr. ArbuthnotWestland's US sub-contractors have entered into formal industrial participation agreements with the United Kingdom MOD regarding the amount of new work that they will place in the UK as a result of the selection of Apache. The placement of this work will be closely monitored using the MODs standard procedures.
§ Mr. MansTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence how the unit cost of the Apache helicopter his Department proposes to purchase for the British Army compares with the unit cost of a Challenger II tank at present on order for the British Army. [36082]
§ Mr. ArbuthnotThe unit production cost of each of the equipments mentioned is information treated as a matter of commercial confidentiality between MOD and its suppliers and cannot therefore be published. This is a long-standing convention of Government.
§ Mr. MansTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence what is the weight and power output of the version of the Rolls-Royce RTM 322 engine which his Department has specified to be fitted to the Apache helicopter; and what is the weight and power output of the T700 engine at present fitted to this helicopter. [36088]
§ Mr. ArbuthnotThe take-off ratings of the RTM 322 T701C engines are 2113 shaft horse power and 1890 shaft horse power respectively and the wet weights are 261.8 1379W kg and 215.9 kg respectively. Although this information formed part of the Westland bid, it is also in the public domain. The current US Army Apache has a lower power variant of the T700 engine.
§ Mr. MansTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence what is the unit cost of the 67 Apache helicopters which his Department proposes to purchase for use by the British Army. [36093]
§ Mr. ArbuthnotThe unit cost of Apache helicopters is a matter of commercial confidentiality between MOD and its prime contractor and cannot therefore be published.
§ Mr. MansTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence when the first Apache helicopter is expected to fly powered by the Rolls-Royce RTM 322 engine. [36095]
§ Mr. ArbuthnotSubject to the negotiation of satisfactory contract terms, test flying of the first Apache helicopter powered by Rolls-Royce/Turbomeca RTM 322 engines is expected to begin at the end of 1997.
§ Mr. MansTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence how much greater the radar signature is of the Apache helicopter his Department proposes to purchase for the British Army, than the Eurocopter Tiger helicopter. [36089]
§ Mr. ArbuthnotAll technical information provided to MOD for the attack helicopter competition by bidders or through the host Governments is a matter of commercial confidentiality or national security and cannot therefore be published.
§ Mr. MansTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence how the unit cost of the Apache helicopter his Department proposes to purchase for the British Army compares with the unit cost of(a) the Eurocopter Tiger (b) the GEC/Bell Cobra-Venom. [36083]
§ Mr. ArbuthnotAll costing information provided to MOD by bidders in the attack helicopter competition is a matter of commercial confidentiality and cannot therefore be published.