§ Mr. HancockTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the estimated cost is of the Royal Navy's Type 45 frigate project; and if he will make a statement. [103057]
§ Mr. KilfoyleThis is a matter for the Chief Executive of the Defence Procurement Agency. I have asked the Chief Executive to write to the hon. Member.
Letter from Sir Robert Walmsley to Mr. Mike Hancock, dated 21 December 1999:
I am replying to your question to the Secretary of State for Defence about the estimated cost of the UK Royal Navy's Type 45 Project. This matter falls to me to answer within my area of responsibility as Chief of Defence Procurement and Chief Executive of the Defence Procurement Agency.As I wrote in my letter to you of 15 December, the total programme cost for the 12 currently planned Type 45 warships (actually designated Destroyers rather than Frigates) including their missiles is approximately £6bn. This includes approximately £1.2bn for the development, design and build of the first of class ship and £lbn for the development and initial production of the Principal Anti Air Missile System (PAAMS). The balance of £3.8bn contains funding for further missile procurement, and allows for the incremental acquisition of the combat system. The ship design will incorporate significant growth margins to allow for this incremental capability development.