§ Mr. BluntTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence what assessment he has made of the number of British defence industry jobs likely to be supported by United Kingdom involvement in the C130J project.[13135]
§ Mr. SpellarThere are some 36 companies in the UK Industrial Support Group supplying equipment for C130J with a potential total value of over £2 billion. This is expected to provide several thousand jobs over the life of the project. As announced by my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Defence on 31 July,Official Report, column 466, we are seeking bids for aircraft manufacturers to meet our future air transport requirements. We expect that, additionally, each of these proposals will involve substantial benefit for the UK defence industry.