§ John ThursoTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many hours the Tain Air Weapons Range was in use for training operations in 2003 and in each of the preceding four years. [166068]
§ Mr. CaplinThe following table shows the number of hours aircraft operated over Tain Air Weapons Range in the requested years.
Hours in use 1999 946 2000 833 2001 616 2002 788 2003 770
§ John ThursoTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many sorties were undertaken using the Tam Air Weapons Range in 2003 and each of the 341W preceding four years, indicating (a) those flown by RAF aircraft and (b) those flown by non-RAF aircraft. [166069]
§ Mr. CaplinThe following table shows the total number of passes made by aircraft at Tain Air Weapons Range, broken down by RAF and non-RAF aircraft, in the requested years. The number of sorties undertaken, each of which could involve one or more passes, is not recorded.
Number of RAF aircraft passes Number of non-RAF aircraft passes 1999 23,479 213 2000 20,709 484 2001 13,651 1,026 2002 21,743 755 2003 22,875 1,302