§ Mr. CousinsTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence when he expects to outsource the inflight refuelling services of the Royal Air Force; how many(a) aircraft and (b) service personnel are involved with that outsourcing; and which (i) companies and (ii) consortiums are involved in bidding for such services. [37827]
§ Dr. MoonieThe future Strategic Tanker Aircraft (FSTA) is planned to replace our VC10 and TriStar air to air refuelling/air transport aircraft from around 2007. Two consortiums have submitted bids for this prospective PFI programme. They are AirTanker Ltd., comprising Rolls Royce, Cobham, Halliburton, EADS and Thales; and the Tanker Transport Service Company Ltd., which comprises BAE Systems, Boeing, Serco and Spectrum Capital. A mix of Regular RAF, Sponsored Reservist and civilian personnel are expected to operate and support the FSTA service. We are currently engaged in preliminary negotiations with both consortiums and expect to decide later this year whether PFI offers the best value for money and, if it does, which of the two consortiums is our preferred bidder. It is too early to say how many Service personnel and aircraft will be involved.