Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to the grounding of Boeing 737 Max 8 aircraft, whether he has made a risk assessment of the award of the AWACS contract to Boeing for the provision of the E-7 wedgetail.

The E-7 is based on the proven and widely used 737 NG aircraft generation of which nearly 7,000 have been produced since it was first introduced in 1996. The two recent tragic incidents involved the different 737 MAX aircraft generation. It would not be appropriate to speculate on these accidents until the competent regulatory bodies have issued their formal reports.