§ Mr. KeyTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will list the activities and costs of his Department's defence technology strategy; and if he will make a statement. [29523]
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§ Mr. Spellar[holding answer 18 February 1998]: The Department's technology strategy is carried forward by a programme of research and technology demonstration incorporating, wherever possible, collaborative work with industry, academia or allies.
The programme consists of three principle elements:
1. An Applied Research Programme, ARP, valued at about £420 million. This programme aims to provide technical options at quantified cost and risk for the formulation of operational requirements that best meet the needs of UK armed forces. It applies to equipment planned to enter service over the next 20 years.2. A Corporate Research Programme, CRP, valued at about £150 million, whose primary purpose is to sustain and develop the defence technology base by building on world-wide science and technology. The research includes technologies needed to underpin the systems-oriented work of the ARP; generic technologies which have wide applications across many environments or users; and innovative research which is speculative in nature aimed at MOD's future capabilities. It also provides the means by which the potential military utility of emerging technologies can be investigated and demonstrated at an early stage.3. A Technology Demonstration Programme valued at about £50 million which is primarily intended to reduce areas of high technical risk associated with the known requirements for future equipment, through establishing design options. It is largely driven by procurement pull rather than technology push, and is generally in support of identified equipment or systems applications. It is for the most part let competitively with industry.There are, in addition, some small elements valued at about £17 million in total directed towards collaborative work with academia (joint grants scheme) and Europe (European transonic wind tunnel).