§ Mr. HancockTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence what reports he has received from the manufacturers of Eurofighter concerning production delays; and if he will make a statement. [82524]
§ Mr. George RobertsonThis 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 Robert Walmsley to Mr. Mike Hancock, dated 19 May 1999:
I am replying to your question to the Secretary of State for Defence about reports he has received from Eurofighter manufacturers concerning production delays. The matter falls within my area of responsibility as Chief Executive of the Defence Procurement Agency.Contracts for the production of the first tranche of 148 Eurofighter aircraft, including 55 for the Royal Air Force, were signed in September 1998. Since then industry has not submitted any reports concerning delays to the contracted production schedule. Prior to contract signature, however, industry advised that to maintain the delivery schedule it would be necessary to introduce lower functionality in early aircraft, with a series of increments leading to the full standard. Nations identified functionality standards that would satisfy the initial training requirement, and these were reflected in the contract. The availability of such aircraft will allow conversion training of pilots to go ahead as planned. All aircraft will be upgraded to the final standard within the agreed prices.