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Defence in the World

I was in Kandahar last summer, as were other Members, and many of the shortages were not necessarily of the sort of equipment that perhaps the hon. Member for North-East Milton Keynes (Mr. Lancaster) was using day to day, but of vital parts for aircraft repair and maintenance, for which there were long waits. To give a good example, one of the Nimrods went out with an instrument missing—a risk assessment was taken before it did so—while we were in Oman. That sort of equipment is not coming down the line quickly enough.