§ Lord Astor of Heverasked Her Majesty's Government:
What is the total cost of the joint combat aircraft project (a) to date, and (b) to completion of the procurement cycle. [HL2597]
§ The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Ministry of Defence (Lord Bach)To date, a total of £345 million has been spent on the assessment of (£144 million) and demonstration (£201 million) phases of the future joint combat aircraft (FJCA) programme. This total comprises our contributions to the JSF programme as the means of meeting the FJCA requirement, the cost of studies on alternative aircraft options and costs associated with UK national activities. The forecast procurement costs to completion are estimated to be up to £10 billion based on the current planning assumption of procuring 150 aircraft.