| Previous Section | Home Page |
DEFENCE
Low Flying
Mr. Redmond : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what were the maximum permitted speeds and minimum permitted altitudes for Royal Air Force Vulcan aircraft, prior to their withdrawal from the strike/attack role, during low-level sorties while deployed to Nellis air force base, Nevada, for Red Flag exercises.
Mr. Hanley : Although records of heights and speeds flown by RAF Vulcan aircraft overseas are not available, inquiries indicate that the maximum permitted speed of 350 knots and minimum height of 300ft, which applied in the United Kingdom low-flying system, were also observed by Vulcan aircrew participating in red flag exercises ; where appropriate aircraft would, however, have been authorised to fly down to 100ft to allow them to take full advantage of the weather conditions and facilities offered by these exercises.
Mr. Redmond : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what was the purpose of recording the noise level generated by Hawk aircraft flying at 150ft during Exercise Luce Belle.
Mr. Hanley : A recording of the noise generated by the Hawk aircraft at 150ft was taken during Exercise Luce Belle on the basis that the minimum authorised altitude for the aircraft is 100ft above ground level as explained in my answer of 20 January, Official Report , column 819 , to the hon. Member.
Mr. Redmond : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many low -level sorties were flown over the United Kingdom by each specified foreign air arm in each month since September 1993.
Mr. Hanley : The numbers of sorties flown by aircraft of foreign air forces in the United Kingdom low-flying system in each month since September 1993 to December 1993, the most recent month for which figures are available, were as follows :
|October |November|December
-------------------------------------------------------------
Netherlands |- |- |-
France |- |2 |-
Italy |- |8 |-
Denmark |- |- |3
United States of America |- |- |-
Germany |- |- |-
Belgium |- |- |-
Canada |- |- |-
Spain |- |- |-
Portugal |2 |- |-
Turkey |- |- |-
|-- |-- |--
Total |2 |10 |3
Mr. Redmond : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will list the number of low-flying sorties carried out by each aircraft type in each month since June 1993.
Mr. Hanley : The numbers of low-flying sorties by aircraft type carried out in the United Kingdom for the period July 1993 to December 1993, the most recent month for which figures are available, were as follows :
Column 353
Aircraft Type |July |August |September |October |November |December
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Buccaneer |100 |139 |115 |137 |74 |54
Harrier |733 |406 |388 |543 |486 |471
Hawk |1,793 |1,400 |1,474 |1,101 |1,137 |486
Jaguar |625 |505 |444 |617 |301 |390
Jet Provost |76 |69 |50 |43 |- |-
Tornado |2,045 |1,953 |1,893 |1,958 |1,504 |1,280
Tucano |871 |939 |801 |636 |468 |380
F-15 |235 |325 |352 |178 |279 |288
F-111 |266 |205 |130 |62 |34 |5
Other Aircraft (including helicopters) |4,887 |3,712 |4,871 |3,613 |3,984 |2,315
|------- |------- |------- |------- |------- |-------
Total |11,631 |9,653 |10,518 |8,888 |8,267 |5,669
The figures in the table do not include the number of sorties flown within LFA 10 as the information is not yet available.
Mr. Redmond : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what information was available to his Department on the frequency of night low flying over the Western Isles, Orkney and Shetland when the decision was made not to include those areas in the system of numbered night low-flying areas ; and if he will make a statement on the means used (a) to deconflict aircraft flying at low level at night over these areas and (b) to identify the aircraft involved in the event of a public complaint about military low flying at night over these areas.
Mr. Hanley : Information available to my Department indicates that only a small amount of night low flying is carried out in these areas, the majority of which is conducted during exercises. Deconflicting arrangements are made during the planning and briefing for such exercises. No complaints about night low flying over these areas have been received in the last five years.
Mr. Redmond : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will list the number of complaints received from addresses in each of the low flying areas in the United Kingdom in 1993.
Mr. Hanley : The information requested is as follows :
Low flying |Numbers of
area |complaints
|or inquiries
---------------------------------------
1 |278
2 |836
3 |19
4 |368
5 |516
6 |374
7 |556
8 |232
9 |69
10 |14
11 |388
12 |230
13 |25
14 |459
16 |583
17 |531
18 |205
Mr. Redmond : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what is the current minimum annual number of low-level flying hours required for combat ready Tornado GR1 pilots to maintain their currency to fly at 250ft ; and
Column 354
what is the specified period of time beyond which pilots who have not flown at 250ft are required to carry out requalification.Mr. Hanley : A Tornado GR1 pilot is required to complete a minimum of 80 low level sorties during annual training. Each low level sortie must include a minimum of 20 minutes of low flying at 250ft. There is no specified period of time beyond which re-qualification becomes necessary. However, if a combat ready pilot is unable to fly at low level for a period of time his squadron will implement a programme of workdown training prior to authorising him to resume unrestricted low flying at 250ft.
Mr. Redmond : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence which document contains the regulation requiring that fixed low-flying routes are (a) used as little as possible and (b) replaced are regular intervals ; and what maximum interval between such replacements is stipulated.
Mr. Hanley : The regulation requiring fixed routes to be used as little as possible and to be replaced at regular intervals is contained in the United Kingdom military low flying handbook. The stipulation is that fixed routes must be replaced at least twice a year.
Mr. Redmond : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what were the maximum permitted speeds and minimum permitted altitudes for Royal Air Force Vulcan aircraft, prior to their withdrawal from the strike/attack role, while conducting low-level training from Goose Bay, Canada ; and if any such training was conducted outside fixed low level training routes.
Mr. Hanley : Although records of heights and speeds flown by RAF Vulcan aircraft overseas are not available, inquiries indicate that the maximum permitted speeds of 350 knots and the minimum height of 300ft, which applied to the United Kingdom low flying system, were also observed at Goose bay, apart from rare occasions when Vulcans were permitted to fly down to 100ft in preparation for red flag exercises. None of these sorties would have taken place outside fixed low-level training routes.
Mr. Redmond : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if the operating authorities of low flying areas 2P, 3, 9 and 10 are permitted to allow fast jet aircraft to enter their low flying area when helicopters are also operating in the area at low level.
Mr. Hanley : Yes, the co-ordinating authorities of low-flying areas 2P, 3, 9 and 10 may, at their discretion, authorise fixed wing aircraft to enter the areas when helicopters are operating at low level.
Column 355
Mr. Redmond : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what was the total number of low-flying movements in the United Kingdom low flying system in 1993.
Mr. Hanley : The number of low-flying movements carried out in the United Kingdom low flying system in 1993 was 262,973. These figures do not include the number of movements flown within the newly created low-flying area 10. Statistics for this area are not yet available.
Mr. Redmond : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many low -flying sorties were flown over the United Kingdom by (a) Hercules aircraft and (b) all types of helicopters during 1993.
Mr. Hanley : The numbers of low-flying sorties carried out in the United Kingdom by Hercules aircraft and helicopters during 1993 were as follows :
Year |Hercules |Helicopters ------------------------------------------------ 1993 |2,242 |41,493
These figures do not include the number of sorties flown within low-flying area 10 as this information is not yet available.
Mr. Redmond : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what consideration has been given to restricting the low flying avoidance area status of gliding sites on weekdays to those locations whose operators have been advised by his Department of specific weekday activity.
Mr. Hanley : The Civil Aviation Authority provide the location and operating times of all glider sites to the headquarters, military air traffic operations. Sites operating on a weekday are granted avoidance status on the basis of the information provided.
Mr. Redmond : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what is the current minimum annual number of flying hours required for combat-ready Tornado GR1 pilots to maintain their currency to fly using terrain- following radar in instrument meteorological conditions (a) in daylight and (b) at night ; what is the specified period of time beyond which a qualification to fly in these conditions lapses ; and what changes have taken place in these requirements since 1989.
Mr. Hanley : A combat ready Tornado GR1 pilot is required to complete a minimum of eight hours automatic terrain following radar--TFR-- flying per year. No distinction is made between TFR flying in instrument meteorological conditions--IMC--by day or night. IMC TFR currency lapses if no qualifying sortie has been flown in the last 30 days. Once a pilot's TFR currency has lapsed he is required to complete a single 20 minute TFR sortie in visual meteorological conditions--VMC--prior to recommencing IMC training. Since 1989 the currency requirement for IMC TFR flying has reduced from 60 days to 30 days.
USAF F-15E
Mr. Redmond : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will place in the Library a copy of the report on the recent noise measurement trial involving the US air force F-15E aircraft.
Column 356
Mr. Hanley : A final analysis of the results of the F-15E noise trial is not yet available. A copy of the report of the trial will be placed in the Library of the House when it has been completed.
Air Misses
Mr. Redmond : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will list the date, location, aircraft type involved, altitude and joint airmiss working group determination of risk category and cause, for each air miss involving a military aircraft in 1993.
Mr. Hanley : I will arrange for a copy of the list of all airmiss reports involving military aircraft in 1993, and which have been investigated to date by the joint airmiss working group, to be placed in the Library of the House.
Mr. Redmond : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will place in the Library a copy of the joint airmiss working group report on the air miss between an RAF Tornado and a Jet Ranger helicopter over Caithness on 8 April 1992.
Mr. Hanley : A copy of the report is being placed in the Library of the House.
Salisbury (Disturbance)
Mr. Redmond : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement in respect of the disturbance caused by troops from the 22 Royal Engineers and the 1 Battalion Irish Guards in Salisbury.
Mr. Hanley : On the night of 20-21 January in Salisbury two groups of soldiers were involved in a fight near a taxi rank. The military authorities are taking appropriate disciplinary action.
No civilians were involved in the incident, no serious injuries were sustained and there was no damage to property.
HMS Birmingham (Sabotage)
Mr. Redmond : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what were the results of the investigations carried out in respect of the suspected sabotage on HMS Birmingham ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Hanley : The investigations into the alleged sabotage onboard HMS Birmingham are continuing. I will write to the hon. Member once these have been completed.
Ministerial Travel
Mr. Matthew Taylor : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what was the (a) budgeted and (b) actual expenditure by his Department on (1) internal and (2) overseas travel by the Secretary of State in 1992-93 after 11 April 1992 and so far in 1993-94.
Mr. Hanley : My right hon. and learned Friend, the Secretary of State for Defence is not allocated his own individual budget for travel purposes.
From our records, the costs of his internal and overseas travel from 11 April 1992 to 31 January 1994 can be assessed as follows :
|Internal|Overseas
|£ |£
--------------------------------------------------------
1992-93 (from 11 April 1992) |37,146 |222,464
1993-94 (to date) |43,365 |187,153
Figures are approximate and cover the costs of Royal Air Force and civil flights. The internal' column includes some flights to Europe which it has not possible to identify separately in the time available.
Mr. Campbell-Savours : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what ministerial visits have been made by representatives of his Department, over each of the last three years to (a) Indonesia, (b) Jordan, (c) Oman, (d) Nigeria, (e) Ecuador, (f) Malaysia and (g) India ; and what was their main purpose in each case.
Mr. Hanley : Official visits by Ministers to the countries listed have been as follows :
Indonesia
Secretary of State--1991, 1993
Under-Secretary of State (Armed Forces)--1991
Jordan
None
Oman
Secretary of State--1992, 1994
Minister (Defence Procurement)--1991, 1992, 1993
Nigeria
None
Ecuador
Minister (Defence Procurement)--1992
Malaysia
Secretary of State--1991, 1993
Minister (Defence Procurement)--1991
Under-Secretary of State--1992, 1993
Under-Secretary of State (Armed Forces)--1991
India
Under-Secretary of State--1993
Ministerial visits are generally made to maintain and improve our defence relations with the host country. In each case a broad range of issues was discussed.
RAF Chivenor
Mr. Harvey : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what is the value of all refurbishment, upgrading and new build work carried out at RAF Chivenor over the last five years.
Mr. Hanley : I refer the hon. Member to the Answer I gave on 16 December 1993, Official Report, columns 918-19.
HMS Britannia
Mr. Cohen : To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will list the dates and places visited by HMSBritannia during its 1993 Mediterranean, Gulf and Indian ocean tour ; which United Kingdom companies used the tour to promote their wares ; what was the total cost of the tour ; and what percentage of this cost was met by the companies.
Mr. Hanley : During HM Yacht Britannia's 1993 tour of the Mediterranean, Gulf and Indian ocean, port visits were made on the following occasions :
Gibraltar--20-21 September
Malta--24 September-1 October
Souda Bay--3 October
Istanbul--5-9 October
Column 358
Piraeus--11-14 OctoberCyprus--16-25 October
Djibouti--1 November
Dammam--7-9 November
Abu Dhabi--10-12 November
Bombay--15-19 November
Aden--24-25 November
Suez--30 November
Souda Bay--2 December
Gibraltar--6 December
Opportunities were taken to promote British business during the vists to Istanbul and Bombay. At Istanbul the following companies attended, under the auspices of British invisibles :
Barclays de Zoete Wedd
Barings International Finance
Barings PLC
Barings Security Ltd
Clyde and Co
Coopers and Lybrand
Hill Samuel Bank
Kleinwort Benson PLC
McKenna and Co
SG Warburg and Co Ltd
SG Warburg Group PLC
At Bombay, the royal yacht hosted 95 British companies ; I shall place a copy of the list of these companies in the Library of the House.
We do not maintain information on the costs of individual tours. Companies are required to pay additional costs associated with the hospitality afforded them.
| Next Section
| Home Page |