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 assessment he has made of whether UK-trained pilots have undertaken combat missions in Yemen.
Answered by James Heappey
Decisions on the employment of trained Royal Saudi Air Force personnel, including aircrew, are matters for the Saudi Arabian Government as they would be for any sovereign nation.
Asked by: Lloyd Russell-Moyle (Labour (Co-op) - Brighton, Kemptown)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, for what reason the UK does not monitor whether UK-trained pilots have gone on to undertake combat missions in Yemen.
Answered by James Heappey
Decisions on the employment of trained Royal Saudi Air Force personnel, including aircrew, are matters for the Saudi Arabian Government as they would be for any sovereign nation.
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 discussions he has had with his Saudi counterpart on whether UK-trained pilots have undertaken combat missions in Yemen.
Answered by James Heappey
Decisions on the employment of trained Royal Saudi Air Force personnel, including aircrew, are matters for the Saudi Arabian Government as they would be for any sovereign nation.
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 (a) training and (b) other support Saudi pilots trained in the UK to fly Typhoons receive from the (i) RAF and (ii) his Department's contractors after they have returned to Saudi Arabia.
Answered by James Heappey
BAE Systems personnel, including seconded RAF personnel, provide routine training support to RSAF aircrew in Saudi Arabia. This refresher training supports type-qualification on all UK-supplied platforms. BAE Systems personnel also maintain simulators providing synthetic training on the Typhoon platform.
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 base locations are in Saudi Arabia of the Royal Saudi Air Force’s Typhoon pilots who have been trained to fly in the UK by the RAF.
Answered by James Heappey
Information about Royal Saudi Air Force bases is publicly available online.
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 Saudi Arabian pilots are training at RAF bases in the UK; and what models of aircraft they are training on.
Answered by James Heappey
The number of Royal Saudi Air Force (RSAF) pilots currently training at RAF bases in the UK is less than 10. The Hawk T2 and Typhoon aircraft are used for this training.
Asked by: Lloyd Russell-Moyle (Labour (Co-op) - Brighton, Kemptown)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, when Royal Saudi Air Force pilots last trained to fly the Typhoon in the UK; and whether that training is ongoing.
Answered by James Heappey
Training for Royal Saudi Air Force (RSAF) aircrew has continued and is ongoing, with the most recent RSAF aircrew graduating from flying training in April 2020.
Asked by: Lloyd Russell-Moyle (Labour (Co-op) - Brighton, Kemptown)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, when Royal Saudi Air Force Hawk T2 pilots last conducted air-to-ground attacks at the Pembrey Sands Air Weapons Range; and what munitions they fired.
Answered by James Heappey
The Hawk T2 simulates weapons. Therefore, no weapons have been fired at Pembury Sands Air Weapons range by Royal Saudi Air Force pilots in the course of their training.
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 type of of munitions have been fired at Pembrey Sands air weapons range by the current group of Royal Saudi Air Force pilots undergoing Hawk T2 training at RAF Valley.
Answered by James Heappey
No weapons or munitions have been fired at Pembrey Sands by the Royal Saudi Air Force pilots currently undergoing Hawk T2 training at RAF Valley. The Hawk T2 only simulates weapons.
Asked by: Lloyd Russell-Moyle (Labour (Co-op) - Brighton, Kemptown)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, when Royal Saudi Air Force Typhoon pilots last undertook training in air-to-ground attacks in the UK where that training took place; and what munitions those pilots fired.
Answered by James Heappey
Royal Saudi Air Force Typhoon pilots only undertake air to ground training in a simulator and through a classroom brief; therefore, no munitions have been fired.