Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answer of 6 July 2020 to Question 67566 on AWACS: Procurement, whether he has plans to make a comparative assessment of the costs of (a) support and (b) maintenance for the E-7 Wedgetail for the US and the UK.

The Ministry of Defence is currently defining the support and maintenance requirements for the RAF E-7 Wedgetail aircraft, and this will involve the evaluation of a number of different options. It will also include a comprehensive investment appraisal to demonstrate that whatever option is selected represents value for money for defence and the taxpayer. While it is too early to provide any specific detail, there are currently no plans for this work to be carried out in the US.