Oral question asked in the House of Commons, by Nick Harvey (Liberal Democrat). It was answered on Monday, 21 July 2008 on behalf of the Ministry of Defence.

Helicopters

Question: Given the shortage of military helicopters, why have the Government decided to withdraw the Gazelle helicopter from service some nine years before its planned out-of-service date in 2018? According to answers that the Secretary of State has given me within the past few months, it has clearly proved the most reliable of all our military helicopters. In view of the essential part that it plays in our national security strategy, is there not a danger that more pressure will be put on the helicopters that we need in Afghanistan and Iraq—although the Gazelle has not been used in Iraq since the early days? Will not its withdrawal leave a gap in our helicopter capacity, and how will the Secretary of State fill that gap without putting more pressure on our operations in Afghanistan and Iraq?... I never said it was

Answer: Thankfully, the answer to the hon. Gentleman's lengthy question is quite short. According to military advice, which I have accepted, the Gazelle is not deployable in either of those theatres... The fact that we cannot deploy it explains why it would not address our shortage in those theatres.

Secondary information

Type: Oral question
Reference: 479 c514-5
Session: 2007-08
Oral question type: Supplementary
Chamber / Committee: House of Commons chamber
Subjects: Peacekeeping operations Afghanistan Iraq Helicopters Military aircraft
Link: View this Oral question on www.publications.parliament.uk