Horizon Project (Hansard, 10 January 2000)

§ Mr. Kilfoyle

This 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 10 January 2000: I am replying to your question to the Secretary of State for Defence about the cost of UK involvement in the tri-national Horizon Frigate Programme. 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 was made clear in evidence to the House of Commons Defence Committee on 16 June 1999, the UK did not withdraw from Horizon. The three countries involved agreed not to proceed to the next phase. Phase 1 of the Horizon Programme (project Definition and Initial Design) was subsequently completed at the end of October 1999. It was also mentioned in evidence that about £100M that had been spent on Horizon (including spend on NFR90 and other studies). This figure covered UK expenditure on the Programme up to 31 March 1999 and I expect the final amount to be under £120M. Until the contract for the Demonstration and First of Class Phase of the Programme is placed, I am unable to say precisely how much of the investment in Horizon will translate into the national Type 45 programme but I can confirm that our plans for the Type 45 Destroyer build on the work accomplished in the design definition phase of the Horizon Programme and the Prime Contractor has indicated that he will pull through some 70% of the Horizon output (Horizon costs were shared equally between the three nations).