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Written question asked by Dave Doogan (Scottish National Party) on Thursday, 14 September 2023, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Tuesday, 19 September 2023 (named day). It was answered by James Heappey (Conservative) on Tuesday, 19 September 2023 on behalf of the Ministry of Defence.

HMS Queen Elizabeth: Military Aircraft

Question

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, on how many days 607 Squadron operated from HMS Queen Elizabeth between (a) 1 July 2021 to 30 June 2022 and (b) 1 July 2022 to 30 June 2023; when it so operated; and for what exercises it operated.

Answer

Before the period in question, 617 Squadron embarked on HMS Queen Elizabeth in early May 2021 as part of the Operation FORTIS deployment to the Pacific between May and December 2021.

The number of days which 617 Squadron were embarked on HMS Queen Elizabeth between 1 July 2021 to 30 June 2022 was 160 days. During this Operational deployment a wide range of Defence Engagement and regional exercises were undertaken by 617 Squadron, including participation in exercises with the USS Ronald Reagan carrier strike group and the USS Iwo Jima amphibious ready group; Exercise Pacific Crown; Exercise Konkan Shasti; the UAE Advanced Tactics Leadership Course; Farallon de Medinilla range exercises; exercises with the USS Carl Vinson carrier strike group and cross-deck exercises with the Italian Lightning fleet.

For the period 1 July 2022 to 30 June 2023 617 Squadron embarked on HMS Queen Elizabeth for 20 days conducting the Operation Achillean carrier strike group deployment.

Secondary information

Type
Written question
Reference
199660
Session
2022-23
Subjects
Air force Military aircraft HMS Queen Elizabeth
Contains statistics
Yes
Link
View this Written question on www.parliament.uk