§ Mr. JenkinTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence what financial provision has been made in(a) each of the last five years and (b) future years for investigating the possibility of deploying missile defence systems. [38953]
§ Mr. HoonIt remains the case that we believe it is as yet premature to decide on acquiring ballistic missile defences to deploy either for defence of the UK or of deployed forces. But we have carried out a range of studies focused on assessing the threat and the feasibility of the technology available to counter it, and continue to do so. A Pre-Feasibility Study was completed in June 1996, and an extension to it was carried out during 1997 and 1998 at a cost of £300K. The Technology Readiness and Risk Assessment Programme (TRRAP) was carried out between 1998 and 2001 at a total cost of £12.5 million. A further programme of work beyond TRRAP to look further at the main technical risk areas it identified, and at the feasibility of defending against more complex and longer range threats, is underway. Studies are also assessing the significance of any capability gap in defence against theatre ballistic missiles, including the role that active theatre missile defence systems might play. The total cost of the current work in this financial year is £3.6 million. This work is due to continue until March 2003 with a similar level of financial provision.