Written question asked by Andrew Dismore (Labour) on Tuesday, 24 November 2009, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Thursday, 26 November 2009. It was answered by Bill Rammell (Labour) on Tuesday, 1 December 2009 on behalf of the Ministry of Defence.

Afghanistan: Peacekeeping Operations

Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many coalition helicopters which can be called on by UK forces are available in Helmand province; and if he will make a statement.

Answer: It is not possible to provide details of the numbers of helicopters available to UK forces in Helmand Province for operational security reasons; the release of this information would, or would be likely to, prejudice the capability, effectiveness, or security of our armed forces.I can confirm that, in addition to our own helicopters, we draw on helicopter assets provided by our allies, including the Dutch, Canadians, Australians and Americans. Helicopter support to international security assistance force operations in southern Afghanistan is provided from a multi-national pool of helicopters allocated by regional command (south).

Secondary information