HC Deb 29 April 2002 vol 384 cc660-1
9. Mr. Andrew Turner (Isle of Wight)

If he will make a statement on the future of the Fleet Air Arm. [50948]

The Minister of State for Defence (Mr. Adam Ingram)

The future of the Fleet Air Arm is assured as an integral part of the Royal Navy, under Flag Officer Maritime Aviation and CINCFLEET. Maritime aviation capabilities are provided on a tri-service basis, but led by seasoned Royal Navy and Royal Marines aviators in all three service commands. The three pillars of the Fleet Air Arm are the battlefield helicopters of the commando helicopter force in Land Command, fixed-wing squadrons in Strike Command, and naval helicopters in the Fleet.

Plans to build two large aircraft carriers are well advanced, with selection of a prime contractor expected in early 2003. Two of the four planned Harrier GR9 squadrons in the Joint Force Harrier will be manned predominantly by Fleet Air Arm personnel, the other two predominantly by Royal Air Force personnel. The first Merlin mark 1 helicopter squadron is already on HMS Ark Royal, and plans are in hand to replace the Maritime Lynx helicopter beginning in 2007. The first upgraded airborne early warning Sea King flight will go to sea later this year, and the joint strike fighter will be introduced from 2012.

Mr. Turner

I thank the Minister for that reply. Bearing it in mind that the Sea Harrier has the proven altitude, range and manoeuvrability to provide better advance warning of attack than any ship-based radar, why have the Government reversed their decision in the strategic defence review to keep the Sea Harrier until its replacement is available in 2012, and what is going to fill the gap?

Mr. Ingram

There is an associated risk attached to all of this, but it is without question a decision based on the balance of investment. We believe it to be an entirely logical step in the smooth transition to future joint combat aircraft. There are significant technical risks associated with the upgrading of the FA2, the Sea Harrier. The decision that we have taken facilitates the capability that we want and will need in future in accordance with the SDR.

Mr. David Heath (Somerton and Frome)

Given that all the procurement information must have been known for some time, why did it take so long before crew members and their families at Yeovilton were advised that they were not going to be moved to the wilderness of Lincolnshire and were going to remain in Somerset? The design of the new carriers will depend on the marine form of the joint strike fighter. When will that design be finished, and when will it be possible to finalise the design of the carriers?

Mr. Ingram

I hope that the hon. Gentleman welcomes the announcement regarding Yeovilton and recognises that these are carefully balanced decisions. We tell people such decisions as early as we possibly can because a lot of uncertainty and doubt can arise from undue speculation. All this is a complex business. I think that we have handled it in an appropriate, sympathetic and structured way. The hon. Gentleman should await the decision on the future aircraft carriers. It is coming.

Mr. Bernard Jenkin (North Essex)

The withdrawal of the Sea Harrier represents a major change in the Government's defence policy and we remain concerned about the risk to which the right hon. Gentleman himself refers. Without the Sea Harrier after 2006, and until the Sea Harrier replacement in the 2012, our fleet will be less well protected and therefore less deployable.

How can Ministers pretend that the new type 45 destroyer can replace the fleet air cover provided by the Sea Harrier when only fighter aircraft can provide both the long-range radar cover and the necessary deterrence to protect ships from air attack? Incidentally, the type 45 destroyers do not come fully into service until 2015. Why do the Government refuse to answer my written questions and to tell the House what savings they are making from the withdrawal of the Sea Harriers six years early? Is not the decision to scrap the United Kingdom's most capable fighter aircraft just another example of how cash-strapped the UK's armed forces have become under this Government?

Mr. Ingram

I wish that the hon. Gentleman would listen to answers. This is not a savings decision. The decision to upgrade the GR variant of the Harrier to the GR9 has been made on the balance of investment, and it will give us an offensive strike capability that is wholly consistent with the SDR. [Interruption.] The hon. Gentleman says that it is a different aircraft. Of course the FA2, the GR7 and the upgraded variant are entirely different aircraft. That is why I referred to some of the significant technical difficulties in seeking to upgrade the aircraft. We have to make a balance of investment decision in terms of where best we can invest to move forward into the future that we have laid down for the expanded fleet and the way in which it will operate as part of the expeditionary force.