Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether the Red Arrows will go on tour to foreign countries in the next three years; and what recent assessment he has made of the effect on UK based air shows of future Red Arrows international tours.

The Red Arrows have a long history of overseas tours showcasing Britain at its best and will continue to undertake them. However, at this stage future overseas tours have not been confirmed.

The RAF fully considers the overall benefits of Red Arrows tours around the UK and weighs this against the benefits of displaying overseas.

Whilst overseas tours may limit the number of displays the Red Arrows can give in the UK during the summer display season, considerable effort is made to maximise the Red Arrows appearances in the UK. The RAF's other display assets including Typhoon, the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight and the Falcons Parachute Team will continue to be available for airshows.