Written question asked by Gregory Campbell (Democratic Unionist Party) on Monday, 13 July 2009, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Thursday, 16 July 2009. It was answered by Bob Ainsworth (Labour) on Thursday, 16 July 2009 on behalf of the Ministry of Defence.

Afghanistan: Peacekeeping Operations

Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether he plans to deploy in Afghanistan helicopters which are out of service for repair or maintenance work on completion of that work.

Answer: On completion of repair or maintenance work, helicopters are returned to the Forward Fleet where they are used for operational or training purposes.Those aircraft which are equipped to Theatre Entry Standard are likely to be deployed to Operational Theatres to allow other airframes to return to the UK to undergo regular, programmed servicing and maintenance.The remaining aircraft in the Forward Fleet are with Front Line Squadrons, primarily for training purposes.

Secondary information