§ Mr. HoyleTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence how much money his Department has spent on developing the Typhoon's operational role to allow it to operate off the new aircraft carriers. [154909]
§ Mr. IngramNo money has been spent on developing the Typhoon's operational role to operate off the new aircraft carriers. As part of the Concept Phase for the Joint Combat Aircraft project, a feasibility contract was let with BAE Systems to identify broad order costs and design issues for a number of different solutions. This contract was valued at around £2 million. The study considered the potential for adapting Typhoon for carrier operations but showed that a significant amount of re-design and investment would he required to operate Typhoon from the future carriers. Joint Strike Fighter has been selected to meet this requirement.