Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the impact of the failure of Boeing to deliver the KC–46 tanker programme and the removal from commercial service of 737 MAX aircraft on the availability of engineering resources for its E-7 conversion programme.

The E-7 is based on the Boeing 737 NG aircraft and not the 737 MAX so is not affected by the current issues with that variant. Similarly, the E-7 project is independent of the KC-46. Boeing has identified an experienced team to manage the modification programme to ensure it is successful. For this project, Boeing has recruited individuals with a wealth of experience from previous E-7 modification programmes from the US and Australia, who have been involved in all the previous customer programmes. Throughout the project there will, of course, be regular reviews to monitor progress and ensure that it remains on track and is appropriately resourced. Boeing is a company of the size and scale to be able to flexibly manage its resources across multiple priorities from a wealth of available skills and experience.