Written question asked by Anthony D Wright (Labour) on Thursday, 23 November 2000, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Friday, 24 November 2000. It was answered by Lord Moonie (Labour) on Friday, 24 November 2000 on behalf of the Ministry of Defence.

Ministry of Defence

Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, if he will make a statement on progress on the Tornado GR4 Mid Life Update.

Answer: Mr. Anthony D. Wright: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement on progress on the Tornado GR4 Mid Life Update. [140561] Dr. Moonie: The integration of TIALD on to the Tornado GR4, as anticipated, achieved a Military Aircraft Release in July and is being used in training by our front-line crews. As experience has increased in using the new software, a number of reliability problems have been encountered with integration of the software supporting the TIALD pod with the Tornado GR4's computer. These problems are being urgently addressed by the contractor, who is working on a new release of software expected early next year. We are, therefore, delaying plans to deploy the GR4 operationally. The contractor, supported by MOD, has embarked upon an urgent investigation into the cause of the current problems and will report progress shortly. In the meantime, Tornado GR1, Jaguar and Harrier GR7 aircraft will continue to provide the operational capability.

Secondary information

Type: Written question
Reference: 357 c334W; 140561
Session: 1999-00
Subjects: Software Deployment Military aircraft Training Harrier aircraft Guided weapons Tornado aircraft Jaguar aircraft
Link: View this Written question on www.publications.parliament.uk