§ Mr. Quentin DaviesTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence what undertakings he has received from the relevant US authorities that British subcontractors and suppliers to the JSF project will have full access to Stealth and other technologies required to contribute to the manufacture of this aircraft; and if he will make a statement. [147568]
§ Mr. HoonThe JSF MOU and the exchange of letters agreed with the US provide for extensive access to technical information that can be used by the UK Government and industry in connection with the JSF programme. These documents are available in the Library of the House.
§ Mr. HancockTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement on the carrier-borne aircraft version of JSF and the timetable for a decision on the new Royal Navy aircraft carrier. [148105]
§ Mr. HoonI refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave to my hon. Friend the Member for Wellingborough (Mr. Stinchcombe) on 17 January 2001,Official Report, columns 226–28W.
Work to assess carrier design options is continuous and a decision about proceeding with Demonstration and Manufacture of the vessels is expected at the end of 2003, by which time we expect to have made a decision on JSF variant.