Asked by: Lord Goddard of Stockport (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many mine-resistant vehicles procured for operations in Afghanistan remain in storage; which vehicle types they are; and what consideration they have given to supplying such vehicles to the government of Ukraine.
Answered by Baroness Goldie
Mastiff, Ridgback, Wolfhound (MRW), High Mobility Tactical Vehicle (Jackal, Coyote), Foxhound and Husky are all protected mobility platforms procured for operations in Afghanistan.
Husky is no longer an in-service platform and is held entirely within the disposals fleet. I am withholding the numbers of the remaining in-service platforms held in storage as disclosure would, or would be likely to, prejudice the capability, effectiveness, or security of the Armed Forces.
Granting in Kind activity has considered each of the above platforms in detail, with Mastiff, Wolfhound and Husky forming significant elements of the UK's first two tranches of support to Ukraine.
Asked by: Lord Goddard of Stockport (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many of the 227 Challenger tanks originally procured for the army (1) remain in service, and (2) are currently serviceable.
Answered by Baroness Goldie
408 Challenger 2 Main Battle Tanks were originally procured for the Army in the 1990s. 227 platforms remain in the Army's current active fleet.
Asked by: Lord Goddard of Stockport (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to upgrade the Royal Air Force Typhoon aircraft; and what are the numbers per annum for the type leaving service in future.
Answered by Baroness Goldie
Withdrawing the Tranche 1 Typhoon aircraft enables the reinvestment required in the rest of the Typhoon fleet out to its out of service date. There are 30 Typhoon in Tranche 1. On current plans, the bulk of the Typhoon Tranche 1 aircraft will go out of service on 31 March 2025, whilst four will be retained until 2027.
Asked by: Lord Goddard of Stockport (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to upgrade the Royal Air Force Typhoon aircraft; and how many of those aircraft left service in each of the past five years.
Answered by Baroness Goldie
In July 2022, the Ministry of Defence announced a further £2.35 billion investment in Typhoon, including fitting an electronically scanned radar, the European Common Radar System (ECRS) Mk2, as well as other improvements under the Phase 4 Enhancement aircraft upgrade package.
On current planning the bulk of the Typhoon Tranche 1 aircraft will go out of service on 31 March 2025, whilst four will be retained until 2027. As the Tranche 1 fleet draws down, aircraft will undergo a Reduce To Produce programme to strip them of useable parts after which they will be sent for disposal action.
The retirement of Typhoon Tranche 1 will enable further investment in Typhoon Tranche 2 and 3.
Asked by: Lord Goddard of Stockport (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many Typhoon aircraft were in service with the Royal Air Force at the end of 2022; how many were at readiness for use; and how many were in deep maintenance or mothballed.
Answered by Baroness Goldie
The number of aircraft in the Typhoon fleet as at 31 December 2022 broken down between the Forward and Sustainment Fleets is given below:
Forward Fleet | Sustainment Fleet | Total |
97 | 40 | 137 |
The Forward Fleet comprises serviceable and short-term unserviceable aircraft. Typically, the short-term unserviceable fleet aircraft are undergoing minor works, forward maintenance or other unforeseen rectification or technical inspection that can arise on a day-to-day basis. The sustainment fleet includes aircraft airframes undergoing upgrade or maintenance or being held in storage. The number of aircraft varies day-to-day, according to normal flight management activities.
Asked by: Lord Goddard of Stockport (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many hours were flown by Royal Air Force Typhoon aircraft during 2022.
Answered by Baroness Goldie
The number of hours flown by the RAF Typhoon fleet is given below:
Financial Year | Flying Hours1 |
2021-22 | 21,360 |
2022-232 | 15,710 |
Asked by: Lord Goddard of Stockport (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask His Majesty's Government what is their current estimate of the support costs for Royal Air Force Typhoon aircraft per flying hour; and how this compares with the original estimate when the aircraft were procured.
Answered by Baroness Goldie
I refer the Noble Lord to the Answer I gave to the Noble Lord, Lord Moonie on 8 October 2020, to Question HL 8679. Support costs are based on engineering and support requirements and are not correlated with flying hours.
Asked by: Lord Goddard of Stockport (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many Typhoon aircraft, in service with the Royal Air Force, were deployed abroad at the end of 2022.
Answered by Baroness Goldie
As at 13 January 2023 a total of 27 RAF Typhoon aircraft are deployed overseas. In addition, further Typhoon aircraft are conducting operational missions from their home bases in the UK, undertaking Quick Reaction Alert and contributing to the security of NATO's Eastern flank.
Asked by: Lord Goddard of Stockport (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many Royal Air Force reservists at the end of 2022 had qualified to fly Typhoon aircraft during their service.
Answered by Baroness Goldie
I am withholding the information requested as its disclosure would, or would be likely to prejudice the capability, effectiveness or the security of the Armed Forces.
Asked by: Lord Goddard of Stockport (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many Royal Air Force pilots were qualified to fly Typhoon aircraft operationally at the end of 2022.
Answered by Baroness Goldie
I am withholding the information requested as its disclosure would, or would be likely to prejudice the capability, effectiveness or the security of the Armed Forces.