Asked by: Lloyd Russell-Moyle (Labour (Co-op) - Brighton, Kemptown)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, are Royal Navy personnel on loan to the Royal Saudi Naval Forces (RSNF) permitted to sail on RSNF vessels off Yemen.
Answered by James Heappey
All Royal Navy personnel currently on loan to the Royal Saudi Naval Forces (RSNF) are in land-based roles and are not permitted to board RSNF vessels.
Asked by: Lloyd Russell-Moyle (Labour (Co-op) - Brighton, Kemptown)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what guidance his Department has issued on the use by the Armed Forces of covert human intelligence sources who participate in crime; and if he will publish that guidance.
Answered by James Heappey
The Ministry of Defence does not comment on intelligence matters and I am therefore withholding the information as its disclosure would or would be likely to prejudice the capability, effectiveness or security of the Armed Forces.
Asked by: Lloyd Russell-Moyle (Labour (Co-op) - Brighton, Kemptown)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answer of 2 November 2020 to Question 107090 on Armed Forces: Surveillance, what the names are of the two specialist units of the armed forces trained to run covert human intelligence sources.
Answered by James Heappey
The Ministry of Defence does not comment on intelligence matters and I am therefore withholding the information as its disclosure would or would be likely to prejudice the capability, effectiveness or security of the Armed Forces.
Asked by: Lloyd Russell-Moyle (Labour (Co-op) - Brighton, Kemptown)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, which units of the armed forces are trained to run covert human intelligence sources (a) in the UK and (b) overseas.
Answered by James Heappey
Two specialist units within the Armed Forces, and each of the three Service Police forces, have CHIS handling capabilities utilising appropriately trained personnel.
Asked by: Lloyd Russell-Moyle (Labour (Co-op) - Brighton, Kemptown)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many covert human intelligence sources have been run by the armed forces (a) in the UK and (b) overseas in the last five years.
Answered by James Heappey
The Ministry of Defence does not comment on intelligence operations and does not release information about any numbers or locations of covert human intelligence sources it may have.
Asked by: Lloyd Russell-Moyle (Labour (Co-op) - Brighton, Kemptown)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many and what proportion of the Royal Saudi Air Force’s current Typhoon pilots were taught to fly the Typhoon by the RAF.
Answered by James Heappey
Since 2008, 25 Saudi pilots have completed Typhoon conversion training alongside the RAF. We do not maintain a record of how many of these pilots continue to fly the Typhoon, nor do we monitor the size of current RSAF Typhoon pilot cadre.
Asked by: Lloyd Russell-Moyle (Labour (Co-op) - Brighton, Kemptown)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many pilots are undergoing RAF training to fly the Typhoon, by nationality.
Answered by James Heappey
As at 30 September 2020, the number of pilots training on the Typhoon Operational Conversion Unit, by nationality, are as follows:
Nationality | Number of pilots (*Rounded) |
UK (RAF Pilots) | 20 |
Qatar | ~ |
Saudi Arabia | ~ |
United States of America | ~ |
*In accordance with the Data Protection Act and our obligations in relation to the protection of confidentiality when handling personal data, the data has been rounded in the table to the nearest 10 and a '~' denotes a number equal to or less than 5.
Asked by: Lloyd Russell-Moyle (Labour (Co-op) - Brighton, Kemptown)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the location is of the RAF bases in the UK where Royal Saudi Air Force Typhoon pilots are learning to fly the Typhoon.
Answered by James Heappey
RAF Coningsby in Lincolnshire.
Asked by: Lloyd Russell-Moyle (Labour (Co-op) - Brighton, Kemptown)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what types of munitions Royal Saudi Air Force pilots are able to simulate using from the Hawk T2.
Answered by James Heappey
All student pilots, including Royal Saudi Air Force student pilots, can simulate the use of the following types of munition during training on the Hawk T2:
Generic Medium Range Air to Air Missile
Generic Short-Range Air to Air Missile
Generic Gun for Air to Air Training and Air to Ground Strafe profiles
Emulated Paveway IV (Precision Guided Munition) for Air to Ground profiles.
Asked by: Lloyd Russell-Moyle (Labour (Co-op) - Brighton, Kemptown)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether the simulator used by Royal Saudi Air Force Typhoon pilots in the UK is operated by a private contractor.
Answered by James Heappey
The simulator is operated under a joint enterprise between BAE Systems, the Royal Air Force and Defence Equipment and Support.