Written question asked by Bernard Jenkin (Conservative) on Wednesday, 9 July 2003, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Thursday, 17 July 2003. It was answered by Adam Ingram (Labour) on Thursday, 17 July 2003 on behalf of the Ministry of Defence.

Ministry of Defence

Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, when the Typhoon will be capable of delivering (a) Storm Shadow, (b) Precision Guided bombs, (c) ALARM, (d) Brimstone, (e) unguided bombs and (f) cluster bombs in operations.

Answer: Mr. Jenkin: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence when the Typhoon will be capable of delivering (a) Storm Shadow, (b) Precision Guided bombs, (c) ALARM, (d) Brimstone, (e) unguided bombs and (f) cluster bombs in operations. [125614] Mr. Ingram: When Typhoon becomes available for operational deployment in the second half of this decade it will be equipped primarily to carry out air defence sorties but will also have a limited ground attack capability. On current plans, Typhoon will be capable of delivering both ALARM and unguided bombs at that stage. Subsequent incremental operational enhancements will develop Typhoon into a truly multi- role weapon system. The content and timing of these enhancements are the subject of ongoing negotiations with industry and partner nations. Our aim, however, is for a fully enhanced multi-role Typhoon to become available for operations early in the next decade. We have no plans for cluster bombs to be fitted to Typhoon.

Secondary information

Type: Written question
Reference: 125614; 409 c479W
Session: 2002-03
Subjects: Defence Bombs Military aircraft Weapons Typhoon aircraft Guided weapons
Link: View this Written question on www.publications.parliament.uk