Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what is the operational status of his Department's fleet of Airbus H135 helicopters; and what plans he has for the future of the fleet.

The 29 Military Flying Training System (UKMFTS) Airbus H135 helicopters named Juno in RAF service are employed in the training of tri-Service ab-initio trainee pilots and aircrew, trainee pilot and aircrew instructors, and staff instructor currency/competency flying. Irreducible spare capacity is used to train international aircrew in accordance with the Department's priorities and via Government-to-Government agreements. A small proportion of non-UKMFTS tasks are also conducted. The UKMFTS aircraft will be employed in this role until at least the end of the UKMFTS contract in 2033.

A further five H135 airframes are airworthy in storage whilst awaiting a Ministry of Defence decision.