Asked by: Mark Francois (Conservative - Rayleigh and Wickford)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answer of 7 May 2025 to Question 49322 on Boeing E-7, what further test flights are planned for the first E-7 Wedgetail aircraft before it enters its test and evaluation phase.
Answered by Maria Eagle - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
The Wedgetail programme has already entered the flight test programme and has completed three flights. There is a comprehensive ground and flight test programme in 2025 prior to the aircraft being handed over to the Royal Air Force, the exact number of which depends upon the success of each flight.
Asked by: Mark Francois (Conservative - Rayleigh and Wickford)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answer of 7 May 2025 to Question 49325 on Boeing E-7, what challenges his Department has encountered in the (a) modification and (b) integration processes for the second and third E-7 Wedgetail aircraft.
Answered by Maria Eagle - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
The second and third E-7 Wedgetail aircraft continue their modification process at STS Aviation, Birmingham airport. The build is progressing well with lessons learned from aircraft one having been adopted.
Asked by: Mark Francois (Conservative - Rayleigh and Wickford)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how much funding his Department provided for the First Sea Lord's Sea Power Conference 2024.
Answered by Luke Pollard - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)
Funding for the First Sea Lord’s Sea Power Conference 2024 was £38,000.
Asked by: Mark Francois (Conservative - Rayleigh and Wickford)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the previous ownership status was of each of the E-7 Wedgetail aircraft.
Answered by Maria Eagle - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
The three airframes were previously on the United States civil aircraft register. They were registered to Boeing.
Asked by: Mark Francois (Conservative - Rayleigh and Wickford)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 25 April 2025 to Question 46691 on British Indian Ocean Territory: Sovereignty, whether he plans to report to Parliament on the programme of resettlement on islands other than Diego Garcia.
Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
I refer the Hon. Member to the answer given to his previous Question, 48365.
Asked by: Mark Francois (Conservative - Rayleigh and Wickford)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 25 April 2025 to Question 46691 on British Indian Ocean Territory: Sovereignty, whether his Department has conducted a risk assessment on the possibility of foreign-aligned groups using the Chagos Archipelago resettlement programme.
Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
There will be robust security provisions to protect the base, including a robust mechanism and review process to ensure no activity in the other islands can impinge upon base operations, as well as a prohibition on the presence of foreign security forces on the outer islands, either civilian or military.
Asked by: Mark Francois (Conservative - Rayleigh and Wickford)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 25 April 2025 to Question 46691 on British Indian Ocean Territory: Sovereignty, whether resettlement will be limited to the Chagossian diaspora; and what criteria will be used to determine eligibility for participation.
Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
This agreement will enable Mauritius to develop a programme of resettlement on the islands, other than Diego Garcia. The terms of resettlement will be for Mauritius to determine.
Asked by: Mark Francois (Conservative - Rayleigh and Wickford)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 25 April 2025 to Question 46691 on British Indian Ocean Territory: Sovereignty, what vetting process will be used to determine participation in the resettlement programme.
Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
I refer the Hon. Member to the answer given to his previous Question, 48365.
Asked by: Mark Francois (Conservative - Rayleigh and Wickford)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the status is of the (a) modification and (b) integration processes for the second and third E-7 Wedgetail aircraft.
Answered by Maria Eagle - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
The modification of the second and third E-7 Wedgetail aircraft continues.
The second Multi-role Electronically Scanned Array (MESA) radar is fitted to aircraft two and the third MESA is on site and scheduled to be fitted in June 2025.
Asked by: Mark Francois (Conservative - Rayleigh and Wickford)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the (a) acquisition, (b) modification, (c) training and (d) infrastructure development costs are of each of the E-7 Wedgetail aircraft.
Answered by Maria Eagle - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
The whole life costs of the E7 programme are subject to approval by His Majesty's Government and cannot be confirmed until this process concludes.