§ Mr. HancockTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make it his policy to arm Type-45 destroyers with(a) TacTom land attack cruise missiles and (b) the Mark 41 launcher; and if he will make a statement. [171861]
§ Mr. IngramThere is currently no requirement to fit Tomahawk Land Attack Missiles to Type 45 destroyers. However, should such a requirement arise, these could
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Port Ship Start End Algeciras Orangeleaf 13 August 2003 14 August 2003 Alicante Northumberland 2 June 2003 3 June 2003 3 June 2003 5 June 2003 5 June 2003 9 June 2003 Barcelona Chatham 25 July 2003 29 July 2003 Fort Austin 20 May 2003 23 May 2003 Gloucester 28 January 2004 2 February 2004 Norfolk 25 March 2004 28 March 2004 Portland 29 October 2003 3 November 2003 Sutherland 21 November 2003 26 November 2003 Cadiz Blyth 4 March 2004 8 March 2004 Campbeltown 21 February 2004 24 February 2004 Sir Galahad 29 July 2003 1 August 2003 La Coruna Bangor 16 June 2003 17 June 2003 Pembroke 10 December 2003 14 December 2003 Sandown 16 June 2003 17 June 2003 Three TA units, 103 Regiment, 100 Regiment and the Honourable Artillery Company (HAC) are issued with guns fitted with the Automatic Pointing System. HAC have their full complement of four guns. 103 Regiment have 12 guns, but are established for 18, and therefore operate with 3×4 gun batteries. 100 Regiment have 14 guns, but are established for 18, and therefore operate with 2×5 gun batteries and 1×4 gun battery. The number of guns issued is determined by the number of Automatic Pointing Systems (APS) available. However, although 100 Regiment and 103 Regiment are short of the establishment, the compliment is considered sufficient to meet their requirements. Other TA Units, listed at Serials 14 to 17 in the table, hold Saluting Guns only. Saluting Guns do not require sights to be fitted.
The APS has been fitted to 112 guns as shown in the table. Those guns without APS fitted are used either for classroom purposes or for saluting only. Dial sights are no longer in service.
be fitted in the future. The Mark 41 launcher would be one option for launching these missiles.