§ Mr. WrayTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement on(a) the Eurofighter and (b) the Joint Strike Fighter and when they will be in service. [21621]
§ Mr. HoonBoth Eurofighter and the Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) will be essential components of the UK fast jet inventory. They will complement each other. Eurofighter is optimised for the air superiority role, while JSF is primarily a strike aircraft, with a secondary air defence role. The current forecast in service dates for Eurofighter and JSF are 2002 and 2012 respectively.