§ Mr. KeyTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement on the future of the 'Snoopy' Hercules W Mark II aircraft at Boscombe Down. [156004]
§ Dr. Moonie[holding answer 29 March 2001]The 'Snoopy' aircraft, although owned by the Defence Evaluation and Research Agency (DERA), has been used exclusively for research trials by the Met Office using RAF crews. The current contract with the Met Office expired on 31 March 2001, after which DERA has a short term contract with the Met Office for the controlled removal of their equipment. In parallel DERA is actively seeking alternative customers for the aircraft. The situation will be reviewed in March 2002.
From July 2002 the Met Office will carry out the meteorological research role, currently performed by the DERA Hercules, In partnership with the Natural Environmental Research Council and University of Manchester Institute of Science and Technology, using a British Aerospace 146–300 region jet operated by British Aerospace Systems from Woodford, Manchester.