§ Mr. RedmondTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence what was the purpose of the deployment of Tornados from the 38 fighter-bomber wing, German air force, to RAF Coningsby during January 1996; how many sorties were flown; how many of these were at low level; and how many practice attacks were made on UK ranges. [8606]
§ Mr. SoamesThe purpose of the deployment was to conduct a flight trial to test the compatibility of an electronic countermeasures system with the aircraft. A total of seven sorties were flown, none of which was at low level. No practice attacks were made on UK ranges.
§ Mr. RedmondTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence when he expects to make an announcement on which United Kingdom airfield is to be the base for Royal Air Force Tornado squadrons relocating from Germany; and what is the planned date for relocation. [8600]
§ Mr. SoamesI hope to make an announcement in the new year about the redeployment of the Tornado squadrons from RAF Bruggen following its closure in 2002.