§ Mr. David Watkinsasked the Secretary of State for Defence how many Hercules aircraft are to be stretched; what is the planned date for their introduction into service; what is the range of a stretched Hercules transport; and how many fully-equipped paratroopers it can carry.
§ Mr. SpeedThirty Hercules transport aircraft are to be modified. Six modified aircraft are already back in service with the Royal Air Force and the programme should be completed by the end of 1985. When it is carrying the same payload, the range of a "stretched" Hercules is slightly less than that of a Mk 1 Hercules because of the extra weight caused by the modification; but it can carry 90 fully equipped paratroops whereas the Mk 1 version can carry only 64.
§ Mr. David Watkinsasked the Secretary of State for Defence how many Hercules and other transport aircraft are required to carry a parachute battalion in a single lift to a non-hostile location 4,000 miles from the United Kingdom; and what proportion of the normally available transport fleet would be involved.
§ Mr. SpeedTwenty-one Hercules, about a third of the total fleet. Normally only Hercules aircraft would be used for this type of operation.
§ Mr. David Watkinsasked the Secretary of State for Defence how many Hercules transports, and what proportion of the total fleet, are required to drop a fully equipped parachute battalion in a single operation.