Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many C-130J aircraft are having external fuel tanks installed; what estimate he has made of the cost of that installation; and what the new range is of the aircraft without air-to-air refuelling.
External fuel tanks have been installed in nine C-130J aircraft at a cost of around £7 million. In addition to the advantage gained by an increased air-to-air refuelling capacity, the fitment of external fuel tanks has extended the range of the C-130J aircraft to around 3,000 nautical miles.