Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the potential operational implications are of retiring the Puma helicopters early for (a) the RAF, (b) RAF Akrotiri and (c) British Forces Cyprus.

The Puma aircraft based in the Sovereign Base Areas (SBAs) on the island of Cyprus have historically supported emergency response across the SBAs, as well as providing firefighting, troop movement, training and defence engagement tasks. Defence is exploring options to fulfil some short-term capability gaps, before the H-145 platform enters service from 2026. Defence's Strategic Objectives will continue to be fulfilled.