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23 Feb 2009 : Column 35W—continued
As you can see, the data do not indicate a general upturn in fuel consumption in the final months of a financial year. Although this does occur in some cases, there are also some decreases at the end of financial years and peaks occurring at other times of the year. There are a number of reasons why flying rates may increase from December to March, including the improving weather and the fact that there is normally less flying in December and January, owing to traditional periods of leave. Flying may also increase in March because aircrew need to renew certain qualifications before the end of the training year, which coincides with the end of the financial year.
You also asked about the rejection from first line in the UK for the Pegasus and RB 199 engines in each week of the last five financial years. This data is available on a monthly basis for both engine types from 2005-06 only and is provided in the following table. It is to be expected that there will be a higher number of rejected RB 199 engines, due to the much larger size of the Tornado fleet (for example there are currently 210 Tornado F3 and GR4 and only 75 Harrier GR9 in the fleet) and the fact that that the Tornado is a dual-engine aircraft, whereas the Harrier
only has one Pegasus engine. However, on average the rate of rejection for the three financial years works out at almost the same: 3.39 engines per 1000 flying hours for the Tornado RB 199 engine as opposed to 3.52 for the Harrier Pegasus engine.
An ‘engine rejection' occurs when it is deemed unserviceable and the necessary repair action cannot be carried out with the engine installed or is beyond the capability of the engineers on the squadron. Unserviceability may be caused by, among other things, physical damage to the engine, engine components becoming life expired, unsatisfactory vibration characteristics or poor performance.
| Rejection rate of the RB 199 engine (fitted to the Tornado F3 and GR4) per 1000 flying hours | Rejection rate of the Pegasus engine (fitted to the Harrier GR7/9) per 1000 flying hours | |
I hope this letter fully addresses your concerns.
Military Aircraft: Helicopters
Dr. Fox: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many helicopters were in service with the (a) Army, (b) Royal Navy and (c) RAF in (i) 1997 and (ii) 2009, broken down by type. [257772]
Mr. Bob Ainsworth: The number of helicopters in service in 1997 and 2009 are shown in the tables. “In service” has been taken to mean the effective fleet, that is all aircraft in Forward and Depth, which are those aircraft expected to be flown by the MOD.
| Army | ||
| Number | ||
| Aircraft type/mark | April 1997 | February 2009 |
| Royal Navy | ||
| Number | ||
| Aircraft type/mark | April 1997 | February 2009 |
| Royal Air Force | ||
| Number | ||
| Aircraft type/mark | April 1997 | February 2009 |
These figures do not include the eight Chinook Mk3 aircraft being reverted to support helicopter standard. Aircraft leased by the MOD are also excluded.
Military Aircraft: Training
Dr. Fox: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the average number of training hours spent by fast jet pilots in each aircraft type in the Royal Air Force was in each (a) year since 2003 and (b) month of 2008. [255629]
Mr. Bob Ainsworth: Officials are collating the information requested. I will write to the hon. Member when this work is complete and place a copy of my letter in the Library of the House.
Dr. Fox: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the average number of training hours spent by personnel serving in each type of tanker and transport aircraft in the Royal Air Force has been in each (a) year since 2003 and (b) month of 2008. [255630]
Mr. Bob Ainsworth: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave him on 4 November 2008, Official Report, column 306W.
Information on a monthly breakdown for 2008 is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
Dr. Fox: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many training sorties for each Royal Air Force fast jet type have been cancelled in the last two years. [255631]
Mr. Bob Ainsworth: The information requested is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
Military Bases: Wales
Mr. David Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will list the active military sites located in Wales. [244797]
Mr. Kevan Jones: Given the way the information is held, it will take officials a little longer to separately identify all of the active military sites in Wales from those that are not in use.
I will write to the hon. Member and place a copy of my letter in the Library of the House.
Substantive answer from Kevan Jones to David Jones:
I undertook to provide a list of current Ministry of Defence sites in Wales in answer to your Parliamentary Question on 18 December 2008, (Official Report, column 967W).
It should be noted that the list below does not include the Volunteer Estate, Army Career and Information Offices, Armed Forces Careers Offices or Service Family Accommodation.
Atomic Weapons Establishment Lampeter Seismic Station
Brecon Barracks
Caernarfon Army Museum
Caerwent Training Area
Capel Curig Training Camp
Capel Curig Weather Station
Cardiff Weather Centre
Castlemartin Ranges
Cawdor Barracks
Cwrt-Y-Gollen Training Camp
Former Defence Supply and Distribution Centre Llangennech
Dering Lines Infantry Battle School
Fairbourine Resource Initiative Training Centre
Hightown Barracks
HMS Collingwood Pant-Y-Rhiw Base Camp
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