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Written Question
NATO
Monday 25th March 2024

Asked by: Kenny MacAskill (Alba Party - East Lothian)

Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the (a) location is of and (b) deployment levels are at each NATO (i) owned and (ii) operated sites.

Answered by James Heappey

The UK is one of the largest contributors of personnel to NATO, underlining our commitment to deterrence and defence of the Euro-Atlantic Area.

The table below shows the number of UK personnel posted to NATO Peacetime Establishment locations, with personnel in 39 NATO locations in 19 countries all over Europe and the Continental US, and the UK has proportional workforce equity at all locations.

Country

Location

UK Fill

Country

Location

UK Fill

Belgium

Brussels

50

Netherlands

Brunssum

110

Mons

170

Norway

Stavanger

30

Bulgaria

Sofia

~

Poland

Bydgoszcz

~

Estonia

Tallin

~

Elblag

~

France

Lille

10

Szczecin

~

Germany

Geilenkirchen

10

Portugal

Lisbon

10

Munster

10

Oeiras

~

Oberammergau

~

Romania

Bucharest

~

Ramstein

70

Slovakia

Bratislava

~

Uedem

20

Spain

Torrejon

20

Ulm

20

Valencia

~

Wesel

30

Türkiye

Istanbul

10

Greece

Thessaloniki

~

Izmir

30

Italy

Milan

20

UK

Blandford

50

Naples

120

Molesworth

10

Poggio

20

Northwood

60

Sigonella

~

Yeovilton

~

Latvia

Adazi

~

USA

Norfolk

50

Riga

~

Tampa

~

"~" denotes a number less than or equal to 5.

Data have been rounded to 10 and therefore totals may not always equal the sum of the parts.


Written Question
Contingencies Fund: Military Intervention
Tuesday 12th March 2024

Asked by: Kenny MacAskill (Alba Party - East Lothian)

Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how much support the Government is providing for military operations in the Red Sea from the Contingencies Fund.

Answered by James Heappey

The Ministry of Defence (MOD) requested funding from the Special Reserve for Red Sea, and other NSC endorsed military operations, be included in the Supplementary Estimates. The detailed breakdown is classified SECRET, however a summarised version of the Net Additional Costs of Military Operations will be published in the MOD's Annual Report and Accounts (ARaC) in due course.


Written Question
Yemen: Military Intervention
Tuesday 12th March 2024

Asked by: Kenny MacAskill (Alba Party - East Lothian)

Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what estimate he has made of the cost to the public purse of RAF sorties over Yemen in 2024.

Answered by James Heappey

I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 4 March 2024 to Question 15797.


Written Question
Israel: Air Force
Tuesday 12th March 2024

Asked by: Kenny MacAskill (Alba Party - East Lothian)

Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answer of 7 March 2024 to Question 16902, whether the UK has provided (a) servicing and (b) other support for Israeli F-35 planes since 7 October 2023.

Answered by James Heappey

No.


Written Question
Yemen: Military Intervention
Monday 11th March 2024

Asked by: Kenny MacAskill (Alba Party - East Lothian)

Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answer of 4 March 2024 to Question 15795 on Yemen: Military Intervention, how many planes have been used; and how many sorties each has flown since 1 January 2024.

Answered by James Heappey

For each of the four operations conducted by the UK against Houthi military targets a strike package of four Typhoon FGR4s and two Voyager tankers were launched. As is standard practice with such operations, a fifth Typhoon was available as an immediate spare.


Written Question
Israel: RAF Akrotiri
Thursday 7th March 2024

Asked by: Kenny MacAskill (Alba Party - East Lothian)

Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether any Israeli Air Force F-35s have landed at RAF Akrotiri since 7 October 2023.

Answered by James Heappey

For operational security reasons and as a matter of policy, the Ministry of Defence does not offer comment or information relating to foreign nations' military aircraft movements or operations.


Written Question
Israel: Air Force
Thursday 7th March 2024

Asked by: Kenny MacAskill (Alba Party - East Lothian)

Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether his Department (a) has and (b) has had an agreement with the Israeli Air Force to provide technical support for its fleet of F-35s.

Answered by James Heappey

There are no technical support agreements between the UK and Israel for F-35.


Written Question
Yemen: Military Intervention
Tuesday 5th March 2024

Asked by: Kenny MacAskill (Alba Party - East Lothian)

Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many Paveway IV bombs the RAF has used in Yemen since 1 January 2024.

Answered by James Heappey

The RAF has carried out strikes on Houthi military capabilities linked to attacks on global shipping on four occasions since 1 January 2024.

For operational security reasons, I will not divulge the specific number of Paveway IV munitions used.


Written Question
Yemen: Military Intervention
Monday 4th March 2024

Asked by: Kenny MacAskill (Alba Party - East Lothian)

Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether he has made an assessment of the potential implications for his policies of reported civilian casualties in Maqbanah, Taiz following coalition air strikes in Yemen on 24 February 2024; and whether that target was engaged by the Royal Air Force.

Answered by James Heappey

A Royal Air Force Typhoon package carried out a deliberate strike on 24 February against Houthi military facilities in Yemen which had been conducting missile and drone attacks on commercial shipping and coalition naval forces in the Red Sea. The two sites targeted were Bani and Sanaa, a distance of some 300 kilometres from Maqbanah, Taiz. The RAF did not overfly the area. The current assessment is that all RAF targets were effectively destroyed with no evidence of civilian casualties or damage to civilian infrastructure.

The Ministry of Defence (MOD) has robust targeting policies which are entirely consistent with our obligations under International Humanitarian Law. UK forces observe all practicable precautions in planning and carrying out military action and conduct a rigorous assessment before and after striking a target. The MOD will investigate any credible reports that UK actions may have caused civilian casualties.


Written Question
Yemen: Military Intervention
Monday 4th March 2024

Asked by: Kenny MacAskill (Alba Party - East Lothian)

Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what assessment he has made of the implications for his policies of reports that an insecticide factory in Al-Nahda in Sana'a was hit by coalition air strikes in Yemen on 24 February 2024.

Answered by James Heappey

The RAF targets on the deliberate mission of 24 February were centred on two locations; Bani and Sanaa. At Sanaa targets consisted of very long-range drones, used by the Houthis for both reconnaissance and attack missions, at a former surface-to-air missile battery site several miles north-east of Sanaa town, and not in the vicinity of Al-Nahda.

Current assessment is that all RAF targets were effectively destroyed with no evidence of civilian casualties or damage to civilian infrastructure.