---

Defence Procurement

I will not give way, because time is against me and I want to proceed to ask some important questions on behalf of the aerospace workers in my constituency. Naturally, I am delighted that Saudi Arabia has maintained its strong links with the United Kingdom, with the signing of the deal for 72 Eurofighter Typhoons. The Minister did not mention the closer working relationship between the Saudi Arabian and United Kingdom aerospace industries, not just on development of Typhoons but on other air systems and perhaps in other areas of mutual defence interest. I regard that as very important. My first question is whether, against a background still of Government silence on tranche 3 of the Eurofighter Typhoon, the 72 aircraft will be net extra to the project or a trade-off between those aircraft which the United Kingdom have already decided to buy within the envelope of an overall purchase of 232. There seems to be a great deal of speculation on exactly what is happening with the third tranche of the Eurofighter Typhoon. I accept that a final decision will not have to be taken for probably another 12 months, but it would be helpful if the Minister could say something about the process to determine just how many of those aircraft will be bought. Reports in Jane's Defence Weekly have indicated that all partners in the Eurofighter consortium have begun consultations on the implications for the project of reductions in the overall number of aircraft. Those remarks were given further currency by the Chief of the UK Air Staff, Air Chief Marshal Sir Glenn Torpy, when Jane's reported that he told the magazine"““that this process would come to fruition in about 18 months as the various national and international procurement processes assessed the options””" and that"““He suggested that the UK was considering not buying its full allocation of 88 Tranche 3 aircraft.””" Was the Chief of the Air Staff speaking correctly when he gave that interview to the journalist? It would equally be helpful to know what processes were involved in determining the specification of the tranche 3 aircraft. Some strange stories are doing the rounds: that somehow tranche 1 aircraft will be exchanged for tranche 3 in a refurbished form; that tranche 3 will be a more sophisticated version; or that tranche 2 will be upgraded. Confusion reigns. It would be helpful if we had some indication of what is going on. The hon. Member for Chorley (Mr. Hoyle) and I have on a number of occasions pursued the Government's attitude to a marinised version of Eurofighter Typhoon. Another major defence project that the Minister fails to go into in any detail is the joint strike fighter. British Aerospace is delighted to have a 10 per cent. work share of the project, but coming from the United States are some concerning stories not just about cost overruns and time delays, which one accepts as par for the course on such a complex project, but about operational failures of the short take-off and vertical landing aircraft, which would effectively be the carrier-borne choice of the United Kingdom Government at the moment. The Minister was also silent on whether the Minister for Defence Equipment and Support, Lord Drayson, had seen any signs of the information and technology exchange that should underpin whether we buy any of those aircraft. Lord Drayson made it clear that there was a plan B if the United States did not tangibly open the books to the United Kingdom aerospace industry and the United Kingdom Air Force on an equal basis and share that technology. What progress has been made? Have there been any tangible signs? If not, why not? If not, what does the Minister intend to do about the decisions that ultimately have to be taken about which aircraft are to be deployed on the carrier? Again, stories are swirling around—are we to have some joint strike fighters and some Eurofighter Typhoons? I do not know. I should be grateful if the Minister was kind enough to clarify precisely what the situation will be.