Asked by: Angus Robertson (Scottish National Party - Moray)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether a study of the centre-wing box of the C-130J fleet is in progress.
Answered by Julian Brazier
A joint UK-Australian study of the centre-wing box of the Hercules C-130J is in progress.
Asked by: Angus Robertson (Scottish National Party - Moray)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, when the drawdown of C-130J fleet will begin; and how many C-130J aircraft will be kept for Special Forces operations.
Answered by Julian Brazier
The drawdown of the C-130J fleet will begin when there are sufficient A400M Atlas in service to ensure the correct balance of capability and affordability within the Tactical Air Mobility Fleet. It is the policy of the Government not to comment on Special Forces matters.
Asked by: Angus Robertson (Scottish National Party - Moray)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, on how many occasions the wrong transport aircraft was sent to retrieve an asset in the last 12 months; and what the asset and incorrect aircraft sent was in each such case.
Answered by Mark Francois
None, as far as I am aware.
Asked by: Angus Robertson (Scottish National Party - Moray)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, if he will place document 2010217-CWS_DESB-1_Gp-R-V4 in the Library.
Answered by Philip Dunne
I have placed the requested document in the Library of the House.
Asked by: Angus Robertson (Scottish National Party - Moray)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the (a) initial and (b) most recent in service date for the A400M aircraft is.
Answered by Philip Dunne
The RAF took delivery of its first A400M Atlas aircraft on 17 November 2014, and of its second aircraft on 27 February 2015.
Asked by: Angus Robertson (Scottish National Party - Moray)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to Recommendation 1.5.2 of the Tornado Collision Service Inquiry Panel, what progress has been made to date on commissioning a review to determine whether safety enhancements are managed appropriately within his Department.
Answered by Philip Dunne
The review reported on 18 June 2014 and concluded that safety enhancements are now managed appropriately within the Ministry of Defence.
Asked by: Angus Robertson (Scottish National Party - Moray)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what discussions have taken place between UK armed forces and the armed forces of the Islamic Republic of Iran on co-ordinating military action in Iraq.
Answered by Michael Fallon
None.
Asked by: Angus Robertson (Scottish National Party - Moray)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what steps his Department is taking to reduce the amount of fuel dumped by airborne RAF aircraft.
Answered by Philip Dunne
Not all aircraft have the capability to jettison fuel. Of those that do, jettisoning of fuel is not a routine occurrence and is used to reduce the weight of the aircraft or improve control; for example, in association with an emergency.
Data on jettisoning fuel is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
Asked by: Angus Robertson (Scottish National Party - Moray)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how much fuel was dumped from each type of airborne RAF aircraft in each of the last two years; and what estimate he has made of the cost of that dumping.
Answered by Philip Dunne
Not all aircraft have the capability to jettison fuel. Of those that do, jettisoning of fuel is not a routine occurrence and is used to reduce the weight of the aircraft or improve control; for example, in association with an emergency.
Data on jettisoning fuel is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
Asked by: Angus Robertson (Scottish National Party - Moray)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many Voyager Aircraft pilots his Department engages; and how many such pilots who started the Voyager Aircraft programme remain flying the aircraft.
Answered by Mark Francois
The total number of Regular Royal Air Force pilots and Sponsored Reservist pilots engaged by the Ministry of Defence to operate the Voyager is 74. Of these, 70 remain flying with the Voyager.