§ Mr. HoyleTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement on the engines which will power the rival bids on the tanker replacement programme. [2582]
§ Dr. MoonieTwo consortia submitted bids for this PFI project on 3 July, so our evaluation of their proposals is at an early stage. Many details of the solutions offered are commercially sensitive and will remain so at least until we make a final investment decision around mid-2002. However, both bidders are content for it to be known that the aircraft currently specified in their bids are powered by Rolls-Royce engines.