§ Mr. BercowTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence what assessment he has made of the additional cost implications in(a) support, (b) fatigue and (c) training of arming the Eurofighters with a cannon; and what are the cost implications of changing the original specifications. [139962]
§ Mr. HoonThe RAF have assessed that the support, fatigue and training cost implications of the Mauser cannon on Eurofighter outweigh the cannon's minimal operational utility, particularly given the capability of the 421W advanced short-range air-to-air missiles with which the aircraft will be armed and the pattern of operations over the last decade.
Specifically, the disadvantages of the cannon include: the damaging effects of the shock of its recoil on the electronics; the corrosive effects of its exhaust gas; the strain which it puts on the aircraft, reducing the aircraft's useful life; and a range of training costs, including new targets and the cost of removing training rounds from the environment.
The deletion of the gun will save some £30 million over the forward equipment programme, and more than £3.5 million every year of Eurofighter's operational life in support costs.