Mick Whitley (Birkenhead) (Lab):...The fleet solid support ships
are not the only defence project that has a role to play in
kick-starting the economy. There are many others, perched on the
slipway and ready to launch. This includes the new tranche of
Typhoon combat aircraft, the Merlin Mk 2 helicopters and the Boxer
armoured fighting vehicles, which are all ready to go into
production. By placing an order for the new Type 26 frigates now,
the Ministry of Defence could get the supply chain...Request free trial
(Birkenhead) (Lab):...The fleet solid
support ships are not the only defence project that has a role to
play in kick-starting the economy. There are many others, perched
on the slipway and ready to launch. This includes the new tranche
of Typhoon combat aircraft, the Merlin Mk 2 helicopters and the
Boxer armoured fighting vehicles, which are all
ready to go into production. By placing an order for the new Type
26 frigates now, the Ministry of Defence could get the supply chain
for long-lead items running. The Government should also consider
bringing in phase 2 of the Tempest project, which has been
scheduled for 2022 and 2023. Those are the kind of shovel-ready
projects the Prime Minister has spoken about so often...
(Neath) (Lab/Co-op):...Aerospace and defence are
inextricably linked, and are a cornerstone of the Welsh economy.
Last year in Wales, the sector had a turnover of £6 billion, which
is 10% of the UK total, and it employed 23,000 people before
covid-19. In Wales, we have Raytheon Technologies’ airborne
surveillance aircraft division at Broughton, BAE Systems at
Glascoed, General Dynamics at Oakdale and Merthyr,
Airbus Defence and Space at Newport, Thales at the National Digital
Exploitation Centre in Ebbw Vale and West Wales airport in
Aberporth. I welcome today’s news that the Ministry of Defence has
announced that BAE has secured a new £2.4 billion next generation
munitions solution contract, which will sustain 4,000 jobs in the
UK over 15 years, with 550 of those at Glascoed...
(Bracknell) (Con):...What do we have to be
proud of right now? Lightning II, the F-35B aircraft, is an
advanced, fifth generation aircraft, but it is American. Typhoon is
another fantastic aircraft, and almost British. The Dreadnought to
come is British, and is being built in Barrow. Our Astute boats are
again British and being built in Barrow. The QE2 carriers—two of
them—are British. Ajax is integrated in the UK,
although it is not a UK platform. Type 26 frigates are British,
Type 31 frigates are British, and the fleet solid support ships are
British...
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