HC Deb 04 July 2000 vol 353 cc129-30W
Mr. Quentin Davies

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence for what reasons the Sea Eagle has been withdrawn from service. [128767]

Mr. Spellar

Work undertaken in the Strategic Defence Review showed that we needed less capability in the field of open ocean anti-surface ship warfare. To this end, it was decided to withdraw the Sea Eagle missile from both the Tornado GRIB and the Sea Harrier, as part of a coherent programme of reduced investment in this area of our maritime capability. Instead, our future investment will be in heavier weapons with larger ranges, such as Harpoon.

The following pre-planned exercise were undertaken where on of the prinicipal objectives was anti-Submarine Warfare (ASW) Operational capability.