§ Mr. HancockTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence (1) what plans he has to procure a suitable weapon system for the UK Rapid Reaction Force to replace the Trigat-Medium Range Anti-Tank Weapon Programme; what it will cost; and if he will make a statement; [134134]
(2) how much his Department has spent on the Trigat-Medium Range Anti-Tank Guided Weapon Programme; over what time; and if he will make a statement. [134136]
§ Dr. MoonieThis 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 24 October 2000:
I am replying to your questions to the Secretary of State for Defence about Medium Range (MR) TRIGAT. This matter falls within my area of responsibility as Chief of Defence Procurement and Chief Executive of the Defence Procurement Agency.The Defence Procurement Agency released an Invitation to Tender on 29th September 2000 for the Light Forces Anti-Tank Guided Weapon System. Initial responses are anticipated by the end of November 2000 and assessment trials are due to start in April 2001.The initial estimate of costs are commercially confidential, but the actual costs will be dependent upon the final systems selected and the total number of systems purchased.You also ask about expenditure on MR TRIGAT. Expenditure on the Medium Range TRIGAT Anti-Tank Guided Weapon Programme as at 31 March 2000 is £107M since Full Development began in 1988. Prior to this, Feasibility Study and Project Definition phases were combined for both Medium Range and Long Range TRIGAT. Meaningful separation of costs is therefore not possible for these stages.