Asked by: Lord Campbell of Pittenweem (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to protect Royal Air Force aircrew from the consequences of being targeted by high power laser activity.
Answered by Earl Howe - Shadow Deputy Leader of the House of Lords
Aircrew from all three services are provided with protective spectacles to give protection from high power laser activity. We regularly review how protection can be improved.
Asked by: Lord Campbell of Pittenweem (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask Her Majesty's Government how many A400M Atlas aircraft they intend to buy for the Royal Air Force.
Answered by Earl Howe - Shadow Deputy Leader of the House of Lords
The Ministry of Defence has ordered 22 A400M aircraft, of which 19 have been delivered to date. The 20th aircraft is due to be handed over shortly, and the final delivery is expected in 2022.
Asked by: Lord Campbell of Pittenweem (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the military effectiveness of unmanned helicopters.
Answered by Earl Howe - Shadow Deputy Leader of the House of Lords
We continue to assess the military effectiveness of rotary unmanned aerial systems and have ongoing capability studies that will help inform our future manned and unmanned capability choices.
Asked by: Lord Campbell of Pittenweem (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask Her Majesty's Government when the Royal Air Force Squadron 617 will be fully operational; and what roles it will fulfil.
Answered by Earl Howe - Shadow Deputy Leader of the House of Lords
It is planned for the Lightning Force to achieve Initial Operating Capability (IOC) from land bases in December 2018.
At IOC the UK F-35B will, as a multi-role aircraft, have the ability to conduct a full range of missions including air-to-air and air-to-surface operations.
In autumn 2018, we will begin initial flight trials for F-35B aircraft from HMS Queen Elizabeth, building towards delivering an Initial Operating Capability (Carrier Strike) from late 2020.
Asked by: Lord Campbell of Pittenweem (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to promote common procurement force specialisation and interoperability with members of the EU.
Answered by Earl Howe - Shadow Deputy Leader of the House of Lords
The UK's capability and industrial cooperation, including joint procurement, is delivered through bilateral and multilateral relationships with our allies and partners. As the Prime Minister laid out in her Munich speech, the UK hopes to continue to collaborate with EU partners on defence research and development to support Europe's military capabilities and defence industrial base.
Asked by: Lord Campbell of Pittenweem (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask Her Majesty's Government when they intend to withdraw the Tornado GR 4 aircraft from service.
Answered by Earl Howe - Shadow Deputy Leader of the House of Lords
I refer the Noble Lord to the answer my hon. Friend, the Minster for Defence Procurement (Guto Bebb) gave in the House of Commons, to the hon. Member for Llanelli (Nia Griffith) on 23 April 2018 to Question 136226.
Asked by: Lord Campbell of Pittenweem (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask Her Majesty's Government which military units are engaged in the clean up operations in Salisbury; and how long they are expected to be so engaged.
Answered by Earl Howe - Shadow Deputy Leader of the House of Lords
Military personnel are providing support as part of the clean up operations in Salisbury. This support is made up of specialists from the Army, RAF and joint organisations, who will be working with experts from the world-leading Dstl. Specifically, the support includes elements from:
- Falcon Squadron, Royal Tank Regiment
- Royal Engineer Troop
- Supporting functions such as a Transport Section from Royal Logistics Corps and Signals detachment
- 20 Force Protection Wing, RAF Regiment
- Instructors from the Defence Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Nuclear Centre
Meticulous effort is required and it is expected that it will be a number of months before all sites are fully reopened.
Asked by: Lord Campbell of Pittenweem (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what ground-based air defence systems there are at RAF military airfields.
Answered by Earl Howe - Shadow Deputy Leader of the House of Lords
A Short Range Air Defence capability is currently deployed at Mount Pleasant Airfield in the Falkland Islands.
Asked by: Lord Campbell of Pittenweem (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they plan to enhance the chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear defence capability of the UK in the light of the ongoing enquiries into recent events in Salisbury and the possibility of further similar events within the UK.
Answered by Earl Howe - Shadow Deputy Leader of the House of Lords
We are already evolving Defence capability to respond to the range of Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Nuclear (CBRN) threats. For example, as the Secretary of State for Defence recently announced, we are building on our world class expertise at the Defence Science and Technology Laboratory in Porton Down by investing £48 million in a new Chemical Weapons Defence Centre to maintain our cutting edge in chemical analysis and defence. The Ministry of Defence will re-evaluate its overall CBRN capability as part of its Modernising Defence Programme.
Asked by: Lord Campbell of Pittenweem (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what is the programme for returning the UK's Type 45 destroyers to full capability; and when they anticipate this will be achieved.
Answered by Earl Howe - Shadow Deputy Leader of the House of Lords
Improvements to the resilience of the Type 45 Destroyers' power and propulsion system will be delivered through the Power Improvement Project, which involves fitting additional diesel generators to provide the ships with increased electrical generation capacity. The programme is the subject of an ongoing competitive procurement and it would not be appropriate to release details of the programme schedule until the competitive process has completed and the contract has been agreed. The Type 45 Destroyers continue to be deployed on operations and contribute to the defence of the UK and our international partners.