To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what is the current (a) estimated cost and (b) in-service date of the Nimrod MRA4 programme; and what each was when the contract was placed. [76645]

The current estimated cost of procurement of Nimrod MRA4 is £2.4 billion (at September 1998 economic conditions), an increase of 0.5 per cent. since the contract was placed in December 1996. When the contract was placed, BAe undertook to meet an ISD of April 2003. Resource and technical difficulties with the early phases of the programme at BAe mean that the company does not now expect the aircraft to enter service with the RAF before early 2005. The precise slippage is still the subject of negotiations between MOD and BAe.