Eurofighter (Hansard, 4 November 1997)

§ Mr. Viggers
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what is the estimated cost per unit of the Eurofighter. [13103]

§ Mr. Spellar
The current estimated unit cost of Eurofighter for the UK is £40.2 million at today's prices.

§ Mr. Viggers
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence on what date the Eurofighter will enter squadron service with the Royal Air Force. [13102]

§ Mr. Spellar
The first Eurofighter is scheduled to be delivered to the Royal Air Force in December 2001.

§ Dr. Lynne Jones
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence when Eurofighter will enter service. [13864]

§ Mr. Spellar
The first Eurofighter is scheduled to be delivered to the Royal Air Force in December 2001.

§ Dr. Lynne Jones
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many Eurofighter aircraft have been ordered by(a) the UK, (b) Germany, (c) Italy and (d) Spain; and what is each country's workshare. [13862]

§ Mr. Spellar
The declared aircraft offtake requirements of the nations is: United Kingdom 232, Germany 180, Italy 121 and Spain 87 and these give workshare entitlements of, United Kingdom 37.42 per cent., Germany 29.03 per cent., Italy 19.52 per cent. and Spain 14.03 per cent.

§ Dr. Lynne Jones
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what assessment his Department has made of the advantages of Eurofighter over(a) Refale, (b) Gripen (c) Mig 29. [13859]

§ Mr. Spellar
Studies by the Ministry of Defence have confirmed that Eurofighter is the most cost-effective option to meet the Royal Air Force's currently assessed future needs.

§ Dr. Lynne Jones
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what was the original estimate of the cost of the Eurofighter project to each of the partners; what are the current projected costs in equivalent terms; and how much each country has already spent. [13863]

§ Mr. Spellar
The Ministry of Defence does not have all the information requested in respect of our Eurofighter partners. On the basis of a requirement for 232 aircraft, the UK's estimated procurement cost for Eurofighter at the start of development in 1988 amounted to £13.2 billion at 1997 prices, and the current estimate is £15.9 billion at 1997 prices. Up to 30 September 1997 we have spent a total of £2.8 billion.

§ Mr. Corbyn
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what is his current estimate of the costs to his Department of(a) research, (b) construction and (c) commissioning in respect of the European fighter aircraft. [13987]
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§ Mr. Spellar
The latest estimated costs to the UK of the Eurofighter programme are £4.4 billion for the full development phase, which includes the costs of earlier phases. Further, we currently estimate that it will cost £11.5 billion for the procurement of 232 aircraft. This figure includes the cost of initial support for the aircraft.