§ Harry CohenTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence what studies have been carried out by his Department into alternatives to cluster munitions for replacement of the BL 755 when it reaches the end of its service life. [31633]
§ Dr. MoonieThe Ministry of Defence keeps under continuous review its capability requirements in this area. To date, studies have concluded that the roles currently met by BL 755 are likely to be carried out by a range of different weapons in the future. Some of the roles will be met by existing or planned systems such as Maverick and Brimstone. This work has also concluded that cluster bombs will still retain some utility, particularly against area targets such as storage depots and concentrations of lighter armoured vehicles. No other weapon is currently available to meet the same military objectives. To fulfil the same role as cluster bombs with unitary bombs would require a far greater weight of explosives, which would risk far greater damage than using cluster bombs.