Asked by: Ben Wallace (Conservative - Wyre and Preston North)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether he has plans to procure F35A aircraft.
Answered by James Cartlidge - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
I refer the right hon. Member to the answer I gave to the right hon. Member for Wentworth and Dearne (John Healey) on 16 June 2023 to Question 188192.
Asked by: Ben Wallace (Conservative - Wyre and Preston North)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what his latest estimate is of the (a) cost and (b) delivery timetable for the E& aircraft.
Answered by James Cartlidge - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
I refer the right hon. Member to the answers I gave on 30 April 2024 to the right hon. Member for Rayleigh and Wickford (Mark Francois), to Question 23416; and on 29 April 2024 to the right hon. Member for Garston and Halewood (Maria Eagle), to Question 23108.
Asked by: Tobias Ellwood (Conservative - Bournemouth East)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many (a) Typhoon and b) F-35 aircraft are operational.
Answered by James Cartlidge - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
I refer the right hon. member to the answer I gave to the right hon. member for Garston and Halewood (Maria Eagle) on 22 March 2024 to Question 7163 which was deposited in the Library of the House with Paper reference DEP2024-0348.
Asked by: John Healey (Labour - Wentworth and Dearne)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answer of 16 November 2023 to Question 1465 on Military Aircraft: Helicopters, whether the Airbus H135 helicopters purchased under Project MATCHA have been sold.
Answered by James Cartlidge - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
I can confirm that the Defence Equipment Sales Authority has completed a sale to the Commonwealth of Australia and their leasing partners of five surplus H135 helicopters.
Asked by: John Healey (Labour - Wentworth and Dearne)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, for what reason the five Airbus H135 helicopters purchased under Project Matcha did not enter service.
Answered by James Cartlidge - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
I refer the right hon. Member to the answer given by my right hon. Friend the Minister for Defence Procurement (Alex Chalk) to the right hon. Member for North Durham (Mr Kevan Jones) on 8 March 2023 to Question 157622.
Asked by: John Healey (Labour - Wentworth and Dearne)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether the five Airbus H135 helicopters purchased by his Department under Project Matcha have flown operationally.
Answered by James Cartlidge - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
These aircraft have not been flown operationally by the UK Armed Forces.
Asked by: Kenny MacAskill (Alba Party - East Lothian)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answer of 5 2023 to Question 3978 on Israel: Military Aid, to which Israeli authorities information from the RAF surveillance flights over Gaza announced on 2 December 2023 has been passed.
Answered by Leo Docherty - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for the Armed Forces)
The unarmed UK surveillance aircraft are employed for the sole purpose of hostage rescue. Information relating to hostage rescue is passed to the Israeli authorities which provide the best chance of locating hostages.
Asked by: Kenny MacAskill (Alba Party - East Lothian)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the purpose was of each RAF-operated flight to Israel since 7 October 2023.
Answered by Leo Docherty - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for the Armed Forces)
The purpose of the RAF operated flights have included aircraft used to transport Ministers and senior officials conducting diplomatic engagements with Israel.
Asked by: Kenny MacAskill (Alba Party - East Lothian)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether RAF Shadow R1 flights over Gaza have recorded evidence of mass graves at (a) Nasser and (b) Al-Shifa Hospital.
Answered by Leo Docherty - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for the Armed Forces)
The unarmed UK reconnaissance aircraft are employed solely for the purpose of locating the remaining hostages.
Asked by: Kenny MacAskill (Alba Party - East Lothian)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether he has shared information gathered by RAF Shadow R1 flights over Gaza with the International Criminal Court.
Answered by Leo Docherty - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for the Armed Forces)
The unarmed UK reconnaissance aircraft are employed solely for the purpose of locating the remaining hostages.