§ 23. Mr. Barry JonesTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence what is the estimated value of the ASTOR project; and when he expects to announce his decision on this project. [16819]
§ Mr. SpellarThe estimated procurement cost of the ASTOR (Airborne Stand-Off Radar) project is in the region of £750 million. Final proposals for the full Development and Production phase have now been invited from the two contractors who carried out competitive Project Definition studies. In addition, the Ministry of Defence has agreed that a co-operative development of a variant of the US Joint Surveillance24W Target Attack Radar System (JSTARS) should also be considered for meeting the UK ASTOR requirement. We aim to announce a decision in 1998.