Written question asked by Gareth Thomas (Labour) on Thursday, 9 January 2020, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Monday, 13 January 2020. It was answered by James Heappey (Conservative) on Thursday, 16 January 2020 on behalf of the Ministry of Defence.

Military Aircraft

Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, when the four BAe 146 aircraft based at RAF Northolt will be retired from service; when replacements for those aircraft will be procured; how many such replacements will be procured; how much funding from the public purse has been allocated to replacing those aircraft; and whether the RAF Voyager ZZ336 will be used for short haul trips previously undertaken by those aircraft.

Answer

The current fleet of four BAe 146 aircraft are planned to be retired from Service on 31 March 2022.

Replacements for those aircraft are currently under consideration as part of normal capability planning.

The fleet of 14 Voyager will continue to support the collective Air Transport task including VIP and Command Support Air Transport tasking.

Secondary information