Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many (a) Squirrel HT1/HT2, (b) T67M-2 Firefly, (c) Grob 115 Tutor, (d) Viking, (e) Vigilant, (f) AW139, (g) A109 Power, (h) Sea King HAS6, (i) Sea King HU5, (j) Merlin HM1, (k) Merlin MH2, (l) Sea King ASaC7, (m) Sea King HC4, (n) Sea King HC6CR, (o) Lynx HAS3, (p) Lynx HMA8, (q) Wildcat HMA2, (r) Hawk, (s) Grob 115 Heron, (t) Dauphin, (u) King Air, (v) Islander AL1, (w) Defender 4S AL2, (x) Defender T3, (y) Lynx AH7 and (z) Lynx AH9A are in (i) the forward fleet, (ii) sustainment and (iii) storage.

The information requested is in the attached table.

The Forward Fleet comprises aircraft which are serviceable and those which are short-term unserviceable. Short-term unserviceable aircraft are undergoing minor works, forward maintenance or any other unforeseen rectification or technical inspection work that can arise on a day-to-day basis.

The Sustainment Fleet numbers represent those aircraft in our Depth Fleet, which comprises aircraft which are undergoing planned depth maintenance or upgrade programmes.

The numbers recorded as being in “Storage” are airworthy aircraft that are currently in temporary storage. These figures exclude those which are redundant, declared as surplus or awaiting disposal.

The following aircraft types are contractor owned and do not feature in the table. The contracts for these fleets are based on delivery of a specific number of flying hours and aircraft availability. The actual numbers of airframes and specific aircraft types used in the fulfilment of the contract are a matter for the contractor to decide, based on their commercial and technical judgement.

· Squirrel HT1/HT2

· S-61N

· A109 Power and A109E Power

· AW189 (selected by the future Falkland Islands Search & Rescue provider. It will be civil registered and operated by Industry).

· Bell 212

· Dauphin N2

· Griffin HT1

· Griffin HC2

· Grob 115 Tutor

· Grob 115 Heron is a sub-type of Grob Tutor.

The AW139 and some of the A109 aircraft are operated on the military register in support of some commercial activities.