Asked by: David Anderson (Labour - Blaydon)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what discussions he has had with his Jordanian counterpart on the launch, recovery or other control of Reaper drones from that country or any other element of Reaper control.
Answered by Penny Mordaunt
We routinely discuss counter-Daesh air operations with Coalition partners but it would not be appropriate to give details about these discussions as to do so could affect the capability, effectiveness or security of the Armed Forces.
Asked by: David Anderson (Labour - Blaydon)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answer of 29 February 2016 to Question 27211, whether the remit of permission granted to use the Sigonella air station extends to UK (a) Reaper launch and recovery operations and (b) combat missions.
Answered by Penny Mordaunt
We have had a long-standing presence at Naval Air Station Sigonella, and have made frequent use of it. However, it is not normal practice to comment on the details of arrangements with host nations.
Asked by: David Anderson (Labour - Blaydon)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answer of 16 February 2016 to Question 26409, what the role and location is of each of the six Reaper Force personnel embedded with the US Armed Forces; and with which units they are embedded.
Answered by Penny Mordaunt
The six embedded personnel are undertaking various training, test and evaluation duties at Holloman Air Force Base and Creech Air Force Base.
Asked by: David Anderson (Labour - Blaydon)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answer of 16 February 2016 to Question 26409, what squadrons or elements other than Reaper Squadrons 39 and 13 make up the Reaper force as a whole.
Answered by Penny Mordaunt
No other squadrons or elements make up the Reaper Force. However, individuals in Reaper Force posts who are to be embedded with other countries' armed forces are usually allocated to 54(Reserve) Squadron, for administrative reasons.
Asked by: David Anderson (Labour - Blaydon)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answer of 25 February 2016 to Question 27212, on what data work commenced on Joint Services Policy (JSP) 900 UK Targeting Policy - Edition 2.
Answered by Penny Mordaunt
Work to create JSP 900 UK Targeting Policy Edition 2 began in January 2014 and the document was in the process of being finalised in September 2014. However, further work was required to ensure the Ministry of Defence's Full Spectrum Targeting (FSpecT) policy was coherent with the evolving National Full Spectrum Effects (FSE) approach.
In September 2015 Defence Instructions and Notices (DIN) 2015DIN03-024 "Full Spectrum Effects For Defence Operations" was released. The DIN set the framework for FSpecT policy within FSE; JSP 900 Edition 2 was released shortly afterwards. A review of JSP 900 Edition 2 is under way and it is expected that a new edition will be required to incorporate lessons identified from operations in Iraq and Syria.
Asked by: David Anderson (Labour - Blaydon)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether the Government has sought from or been given permission by the Italian government for use of the Sigonella air station in Sicily.
Answered by Penny Mordaunt
The UK Government has permission to operate from Naval Air Station (NAS) Sigonella. We make frequent use of it, for example in 2015, three Merlin helicopters were based there as a part of Operation WEALD, which provided search and rescue capability in the Mediterranean.
We are currently operating from NAS Sigonella as part of a NATO anti-submarine warfare exercise, Exercise DYNAMIC MANTA.
Asked by: David Anderson (Labour - Blaydon)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to his Written Statement of 17 December 2015, HCWS 431, to which deployed coalitions the UK is party.
Answered by Michael Fallon
The personnel embedded in coalition Headquarters are supporting Operation Shader and wider Middle East security operations.
Asked by: David Anderson (Labour - Blaydon)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, if he will place a copy of the UK Joint Targeting and Battle Damage Assessment Policy paper, dated 2005, in the Library.
Answered by Penny Mordaunt
The UK Joint Targeting and Battle Damage Assessment Policy paper, dated 2005 established the baseline principles primarily for coordinating the delivery of lethal effects. This paper has been superseded by Joint Services Policy (JSP) 900 UK Targeting Policy - Edition 2 dated September 2015 which contains the policy and direction on targeting, and guidance on the processes involved and best practice to apply. UK Targeting policy has evolved to incorporate operational lessons identified through Full Spectrum Targeting, apportioning action (lethal and non-lethal) in accordance with desired policy outcomes, and to bring greater interoperability between the UK, NATO and the 5 Eyes Nations (Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the UK, and the US ). JSP 900 cannot yet be placed in the public domain as it would, or would be likely to prejudice the capability, effectiveness or security of the Armed Forces and forces cooperating with them. However, we are working to produce a releasable version which is to be published later in 2016.
Asked by: David Anderson (Labour - Blaydon)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether there are Reaper Ground Control Stations available for use by UK Reaper Squadrons 13 and 39 in North Africa.
Answered by Penny Mordaunt
The Government has a long standing policy not to comment on intelligence matters.
Asked by: David Anderson (Labour - Blaydon)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether any personnel from Reaper Squadrons 39 or 13 are currently embedded with US forces.
Answered by Penny Mordaunt
No personnel directly from 39 Squadron or 13 Squadron are currently embedded with the US armed forces. However, from the Reaper force as a whole, there are currently six Royal Air Force personnel embedded with the United States Air Force.