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1 July 2009 : Column 248W—continued


2008 2009

Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Jan Feb Mar Apr May

Harrier (all types)

82

71

58

102

89

75

61

91

45

88

55

78

Tornado GR4

172

188

132

140

158

198

160

178

163

194

104

119

Tornado F3

27

13

10

11

9

10

7

5

5

7

10

0

Typhoon

44

61

47

59

61

36

53

36

55

80

55

22

Nimrod MR2

16

7

17

14

8

8

8

5

18

14

2

6

Nimrod R1

0

2

3

1

0

4

2

10

9

7

2

3

Sea King

10

21

14

17

12

15

12

9

13

13

16

12

Tristar

5

6

16

3

4

0

7

3

5

6

9

1

VC10

14

6

6

10

19

13

10

3

4

14

7

3

Hercules C130K

35

16

13

25

21

15

11

12

15

9

8

11

Hercules C130J

66

48

33

57

55

37

33

42

15

24

34

17

Sentinel R1(1)

2

2

12

10

7

2

4

8

Sentry

4

9

3

5

7

1

3

5

3

2

13

6

BAe 125

2

13

4

2

4

2

0

4

7

10

1

2

BAe 146

0

1

1

0

0

5

3

5

1

0

4

0

C17

3

7

5

4

3

5

4

1

3

5

3

4

Dominie

17

11

5

2

2

0

2

0

2

0

0

0

Hawk

13

14

5

7

13

14

11

13

22

37

13

26

Tucano

1

3

0

1

2

2

0

0

1

2

0

2

Vigilant

1

2

2

2

1

1

0

2

1

1

0

0

Viking

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

1. Sentinel R1 figures for June to September 2008 are not available

Army: Clothing

Mr. Crausby: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what recent assessment he has made of the merits of replacing bearskin caps worn by the Guards Regiments with caps made from synthetic material. [282942]

Mr. Quentin Davies: The Ministry of Defence has repeatedly demonstrated its commitment to the use of faux fur products in military ceremonial clothing wherever a suitable alternative can be found to real fur. Examples of this include the Busby cap worn by the members of the Royal Horse Artillery and the Shako hat worn by the Rifles Regiments.

Officials met with representatives of several potential suppliers at an Industry Day on 23 October 2008 to investigate whether the market could deliver an alternative solution to meet the Guards' requirements. Our conclusion is that industry is not currently able to produce a synthetic material with the properties required for the ceremonial cap, whose iconic design is closely associated with this nation's traditions and is recognised around the world.

However, we remain open to testing material that industry might offer us as a potential synthetic alternative.


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