§ 3. Mr. Bill Walkerasked the Secretary of State for Defence if he has any plans to introduce a secondary surveillance radar facility at RAF Leuchars.
§ The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Defence Procurement (Mr. John Lee)Yes. It is planned that a secondary surveillance radar will be operational at RAF Leuchars by 1988.
§ Mr. WalkerI thank my hon. Friend for that positive reply. Will he confirm that this is a recognition of the importance which Leuchars enjoys, first as the premier airfield in that part of the world, and, secondly, because it is so helpful to civilian aircraft, the number of which passing through that air space has more than trebled in the last 12 months? It is because of that help that Leuchars desperately needs this equipment.
§ Mr. LeeMy hon. Friend is absolutely right. Leuchars is an extremely important front-line air defence base. SSR will provide automatic identification and height information and will considerably facilitate the safety aspect associated with the very substantial increase in air traffic.
§ Mr. Home RobertsonWill this surveillance system make it possible to establish whether low-flying military aircraft in the east of Scotland are breaking the regulations?