Asked by: Lord Robathan (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what is the total cost of the extension to the Sentry Whole Life Support Programme, awarded in October 2016.
Answered by Earl Howe - Shadow Deputy Leader of the House of Lords
The cost of the Sentry Whole Life Support Programme (WLSP) contract extension, which was awarded to Northrop Grumman in October 2016, is £309 million.
The WLSP programme will provide technical and maintenance services to the Sentry E-3D airborne early warning aircraft until 2025. The extension takes the total cost of the programme to £1 billion.
Asked by: Lord Robathan (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Earl Howe on 3 April (HL6359), what was the average cost per flying hour for the C130 fleet for each year since 2005–06; and what was the total cost of running the C130 fleet for each of those years.
Answered by Earl Howe - Shadow Deputy Leader of the House of Lords
The information requested is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
Asked by: Lord Robathan (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many personnel serving in the Parachute Regiment or supporting arms attached to Parachute Regiment Battalions, are not qualified as military parachutists and have not completed the required parachute training.
Answered by Earl Howe - Shadow Deputy Leader of the House of Lords
The table below sets out the number of Regular and Reserve personnel serving in the Parachute Regiment or supporting arms attached to the Parachute Regiment Battalions who have not completed the Army Basic Parachute Course as of 1 April 2017.
| Part qualified | Not qualified |
Parachute Regiment | 180 | 230 |
Attached personnel | 10 | 10 |
Part qualified personnel are those who have completed 90 per cent of the course and are therefore considered to be Limited Combat Ready. Unqualified personnel will have successfully completed the Pre-Parachute Selection process and await upload to parachute training.
Central information is not held to this level, therefore figures are locally produced management information. The figures provided have been rounded to the nearest 10 to limit disclosure and ensure confidentiality.
Asked by: Lord Robathan (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many hours the RAF fleet of C-130Js has flown in each year since entering service; and what was the average cost per flying hour for the C-130J over the same period.
Answered by Earl Howe - Shadow Deputy Leader of the House of Lords
The first C-130J was delivered in 1998. The information requested on the C-130J is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
Figures for the planned flying hours from financial years 2000-01 to 2015-16 are given in the table below. Figures reflect the total C-130 fleet irrespective of aircraft Mark, and therefore include the C-130K which is now out of service.
C-130 Fleet Planned Flying Hours
Financial Year | Planned Flying Hours |
2000-01 | 36,710 |
2001-02 | 36,710 |
2002-03 | 37,460 |
2003-04 | 37,460 |
2004-05 | 34,960 |
2005-06 | 34,960 |
2006-07 | 34,960 |
2007-08 | 34,960 |
2008-09 | 29,600 |
2009-10 | 28,720 |
2010-11 | 28,060 |
2011-12 | 26,080 |
2012-13 | 24,440 |
2013-14 | 22,150 |
2014-15 | 13,690 |
2015-16 | 13,640 |
Figures are rounded to the nearest 10.