Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what assessment he has made of the potential effect on capability of the early retirement of the C-130J; and if he will make a statement.

Any decision on the out of service date for the C130J Fleet is subject to the Integrated Review (IR). The intention of the IR is to modernise our Armed Forces to ensure they have the capabilities they need to counter both current threats and those of the future. Any decision on future capabilities will be driven by those principles.