Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what his planned timetable is for the A400M aircraft to replace the C-130J Hercules aircraft in the special forces transport role; and what estimate he has made of the cost of converting the A400M aircraft to undertake the role previously performed by the C-130J Hercules aircraft.

It has been the longstanding position of successive Governments not to comment on the capabilities of the UK special forces, as to do so would put personnel and operations at risk.

Capability performance is assessed against the contribution it will make to counter the threats we face, now and into the future. The A400M, as the successor to the C-130J, is a highly capable modern aircraft, offering many advantages over the current C-130J capability, including a greater range and payload capacity.