§ 1. Mr. Juddasked the Minister of State for Defence whether he will make a statement on the latest assessment of Harrier's suitability and availability for service with the Royal Navy.
§ Mr. KirkI cannot add to the reply given by my right hon. Friend to the hon. Member for Haltemprice (Mr. Wall) on 19th October.—[Vol. 843, c. 436–7.]
§ Mr. Michael McNair-Wilsonasked the Minister of State for Defence how many Harrier aircraft have had their throttles modified to enable the pilot to re-start the engine in flight after bird ingestion; when the modification was first suggested by the Directorate of Air Safety; and what will be the total cost of the programme.
§ Lord LambtonTwenty-eight Royal Air Force Harriers have so far been fitted with the manual fuel control system which can, under certain conditions, help in restarting the engine after bird-ingestion. The case for this modification was first identified in July, 1970. The total cost for Royal Air Force aircraft is in the order of £500.000.
§ Mr. Michael McNair-Wilsonasked the Minister of State for Defence how many Royal Air Force aircraft were involved in accidents with birds in the nine months up to 30th September; and what was the effect of these collisions.
§ Lord LambtonTwelve aircraft, three of which were destroyed and the others moderately to severely damaged. There were no casualties or injuries to the crews.