§ Mr. JenkinTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether Harrier GR7 has a gun capability; and if it is planned that Harrier GR9/A will have a gun capability. [49752]
§ Mr. IngramThe Harrier GR7 does not have a gun capability, and we have no plans to give a gun capability to the GR9/A.
§ Mr. JenkinTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many sorties were flown by(a) Harrier GR7 and (b) Sea Harrier in operations over Sierra Leone in 2000. [49751]
§ Mr. IngramBetween 11 May 2000 and 6 June 2000 inclusive, Harrier GR7 and Sea Harrier flew 147 and 134 sorties respectively, while deployed in support of operations in Sierra Leone.
§ Mr. JenkinTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence if the integration work on Sea Harrier for ASRAAM has been completed; and at what cost. [49763]
§ Mr. IngramThe work to integrate Advanced Short Range Air-to-Air Missile (ASRAAM) on Sea Harrier has been terminated in the light of the recent decision to withdraw the aircraft from service by 2006 which is earlier than originally planned.
Expenditure on the ASRAAM integration programme did not exceed £1.2 million.
§ Mr. JenkinTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence when Harrier GR7 will be operational with(a) Brimstone and (b) Storm Shadow. [49754]
§ Mr. IngramFollowing the upgrade of Harrier GR7 to GR9 standard, it is intended that the Brimstone anti-armour weapon will enter operational service on it in 2006.
We do not currently intend to integrate Stormshadow on to Harrier GR9. The operation of Harrier GR9 from the CVS with Stormshadow will not be practical, due to the size and weight of the missile. In addition, it is not currently considered to be cost effective to integrate Stormshadow on to Harrier GR9 solely for land-based operations; this capability will be provided by Tornado GR4.
§ Mr. JenkinTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence what recent representations he has received from the Indian Government about the purchase of Fleet Air Arm Sea Harriers. [49761]
§ Dr. MoonieOfficials within the Ministry of Defence have received inquiries from representatives of the Government of India regarding the future availability of surplus Fleet Air Arm Sea Harriers. As part of its marketing strategy for the sale of these aircraft, the Disposal Services Agency will follow up all expressions of interests accordingly, subject, of course, to the normal export controls.
§ Mr. JenkinTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence what modifications need to be made to the Harrier GR7 for sustained operations at sea. [49753]
§ Mr. IngramI refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 13 March 2002,Official Report, column 1166–67W.