Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what plans he has to decrease the RAF's Boeing E-3 Sentry aircraft fleet; and if he will make a statement.

The Sentry has provided excellent service and intelligence capability to both NATO and the UK since its first operational mission in 1991. The drawdown of Sentry is ongoing. Since 2017 the fleet has reduced from six airframes to three. As is normal in fleet transition, the numbers of aircraft and crews needed to support frontline operations naturally reduce approaching the formal out of service date. It will continue to deliver this operational capability and the ability to undertake operational tasking all the way to its out of service date.