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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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 of sending a RAF Typhoon fighter jet from RAF Akrotiri on a bombing sortie over Yemen.
Answered by James Heappey
While costs relating to individual aircraft sorties are not captured, the Net Additional Costs of Military Operations will be identified and reported in the Annual Report and Accounts in due course.
Asked by: Kenny MacAskill (Alba Party - East Lothian)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what munitions the RAF has used in Yemen since 1 January 2024.
Answered by James Heappey
The RAF have used Paveway IV precision guided bombs.