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Written question asked by Angus Robertson (Scottish National Party) on Thursday, 22 January 2015, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Monday, 26 January 2015. It was answered by Mark Francois (Conservative) on Thursday, 29 January 2015 on behalf of the Ministry of Defence.


Military Aircraft

Question

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many times aircraft were intercepted by Quick Reaction Alert flights in 2014; and what the (a) intercepted aircraft type and (b) location were.

Answer

Quick Reaction Alert (QRA) aircraft launched to intercept aircraft on 20 days in 2014. The number of days on which QRA aircraft have launched specifically against Russian military aircraft for each year since 2005 is contained in the table below. Not every launch resulted in an interception as some incidents were resolved prior to interception.

Year

No. Days Launched Against Russian Military Aircraft

2005

4

2006

1

2007

19

2008

11

2009

11

2010

7

2011

10

2012

9

2013

8

2014

8

I am withholding further details as deterrence is a principal function of QRA and QRA is in turn an integral part of the air defence of the UK. The disclosure of information that might compromise the QRA deterrent capability would, or would be likely to, prejudice the capability, effectiveness or security of the Armed Forces.


Secondary information

Type
Written question
Reference
221677
Session
2014-15
Grouped for answer
Yes
Subjects
Deployment Military aircraft Airspace
Contains statistics
Yes
Link
View this Written question on www.parliament.uk