Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answer of 9 September to Question 84972, whether the UK possessed good existing radar coverage in the area; and for what reasons his Department deployed the P-8 aircraft in the English Channel.

The UK possesses good existing air surveillance radar coverage over the English Channel. Defence tasked the P-8A Poseidon aircraft to conduct missions in support of the Border Force operation to detect and track small boats crossing the English Channel from France with suspected migrants. The P-8A Poseidon is equipped with a maritime search radar that can detect surface contacts, including small boats.