HC Deb 16 July 2001 vol 372 cc5-6W
Andrew George

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the total(a) budget and (b) cost was of purchasing and commissioning the Merlin helicopter for the Royal Navy. [4337]

Mr. Ingram

The total budget for purchasing the Merlin helicopter was £4,931 million. The total forecast cost of purchasing the Merlin helicopter is £4,903 million. This includes the UK element of the development costs. The development of the Merlin Mk1 was part of the EH 101 UK/Italy collaborative project. The forecast also includes an estimate for the initial provisioning of capital spares, the cost of the avionics weapon system, the Merlin Training System and the supply of ground support equipment.

Andrew George

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence when the full squadron of Royal Navy Merlin helicopters will be fully operational; and if he will make a statement. [4338]

Mr. Ingram

On current plans the first full squadron of Royal Navy Merlin helicopters will be fully operational in May 2002 with the further squadrons achieving this status within a rolling programme up to 2005.

Mr. Key

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if QinetiQ plc is included in the manufacturing licence agreement for the Apache AH MK I helicopter. [3487]

Dr. Moonie

[holding answer 13 July 2001]: No. The Manufacturing licence for the UK Apache Attack Helicopter is between Westland Helicopters Ltd. and the Boeing Company. Westland Helicopters Ltd. is currently seeking an amendment to the licence to enable QinetiQ to access such US proprietary data as it needs to undertake its work on the UK Apache programme. US State Department approval will be required for the amendment.

Angus Robertson

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what will be the impact of the failure of the full mission simulator software on the date for operational readiness of the WAH-64 helicopter. [3572]

Dr. Moonie

Problems with software integration have delayed the availability of the Full Mission Simulator for the UK WAH-64 Apache Attack Helicopter. This has, in turn, delayed the start of our training programme. As a consequence, we currently expect the readiness date for the first operational Apache squadron will be August 2004, a slip of seven months.