§ Mr. WrayTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the armament of the Type 45 Destroyer will be; and what plans there are for a land attack capability for surface warships. [35719]
§ Dr. MoonieWith reference to the Type 45's armament, I refer my hon. Friend to the answer I gave on 24 April 2001,Official Report, column 232W to the hon. Member for Grantham and Stamford (Mr. Davies).
We are considering whether a contribution to land attack capability is required from the Type 45 Anti-Air Warfare Destroyer (which might be provided through a larger calibre gun or land attack missiles), and in the longer term from the Future Surface Combatant. This is in the context of the land attack capability of our submarines, and the marked increase in maritime offensive air power planned with the introduction of the Future Aircraft Carrier and Future Joint Combat Aircraft.