asked the Secretary of State for Defence if he will state the original estimate and the current cost so far of the Sting Ray lightweight torpedo.

The total cost of the Sting Ray programme estimated at the end of the project definition stage, and as reported to the Public Accounts Committee in 1979, was £923 million at September 1979 prices. Development programmes cannot be reliably costed before the end of project definition. Expenditure on Sting Ray to the end of the current financial year is estimated at £283 million, including VAT, at outturn prices.