§ Mr. SavidgeTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence what progress has been made in his Department's plans to procure two new aircraft carriers. [99741]
§ Mr. KilfoyleI am pleased to be able to announce that competitive contracts were placed today with British Aerospace Land and Sea Systems Ltd. and Thomson-CSF NCS France for the Assessment Phase of the Future Aircraft Carrier (CVF) project.
The two contracts, each potentially worth £29.4 million VAT inclusive, consist of two phases. The first phase of each contract, worth £5.9 million, will involve work to examine a variety of aircraft carrier design options. This phase will also help inform the choice of the type of Future Carrier Borne Aircraft (FCBA). The second phase, worth a further £23.5 million, will involve risk reduction on the preferred carrier design option when the decision on the selection of FCBA has been taken. Progression 58W to this second phase will be subject to BAe and Thomson-CSF satisfactorily completing the first package of work. The Assessment Phase will complete in 2003 when bids for the Demonstration and Manufacture Phase of CVF will be delivered. The two carriers are scheduled to enter service in 2012 and 2015.
The new carriers will form a key element of the modern force structure that emerged from SDR. They will be particularly relevant to the foreign and security policy demands of the next century and will ensure the UK retains one of the most powerful and effective navies in the world.