§ Mr. KeyTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence (1) what are the estimated costs of(a) Operation Deliberate Forge, (b) Operation Radome and (c) Operation Kingower; how the costs will be apportioned between (i) named international bodies and (ii) named countries; and if the costs to the United Kingdom will be met from his Department's budget or from the Government's contingency funds; [68254]
652W(2) what is the cost to date of the NATO extraction force in Macedonia; and how the cost is divided between the participating states. [68253]
§ Mr. George RobertsonOperation Kingower is the name given to the United Kingdom planning for support of any action that may be undertaken in Kosovo. It incorporates a range of operations including Operation Radome, which is the UK contribution to the NATO Kosovo Air Verification Mission, the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe Kosovo Verification Mission and the NATO Kosovo Extraction Force. Operation Deliberate Forge is the UK contribution to NATO air operations over Bosnia.
We calculate that the extra costs to Defence Votes of the activities covered by Operation Kingower will amount to some £7 million in the current financial year; the costs of Operation Deliberate Forge in same period are likely to amount to some £10 million. These operations are funded on a national basis. Their costs were included in the overall forecast of costs for unprogrammed overseas operations in the current financial year for which the Secretary of State has sought a contribution from the Reserve.