§ The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Ministry of Defence (Lord Bach)My right honourable friend the Minister of State for Defence (Mr Adam Ingram) has made the following Written Ministerial Statement.
The Ministry of Defence has selected two systems offered by Dynamit Nobel and Saab Bofors Dynamics to proceed into a competitive assessment phase for the antistructures munition programme. This follows a successful and comprehensive evaluation as part of the concept phase. The cost of the assessment phase is likely to be approximately £7 million.
The ASM programme is intended to produce a man-portable, shoulder-launched, precision weapon for use against fixed structures and other emplacements at a range of around 200m utilising enhanced blast warhead technology. A decision on whether to commit to demonstration and manufacture of the system will occur at main gate.
The Strategic Defence Review new chapter placed increased emphasis on the need for precision in the lace of force and ASM has the potential to provide the Armed Forces with a significant advancement in capability in this area, particularly for expeditionary operations in urban and mountainous terrain. It is designed to minimise casualties and will be fully in accordance with our obligations under international humanitarian law.