§ Mr. Peytonasked the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement on the future of the Fleet Air Arm and of the Royal Naval Air Station at Yeovilton in particular.
§ Mr. FoleyAs stated in the July 1967 Defence Statement, every ship from frigate upwards will have the most effective capacity for reconnaissance and for surface ship and submarine attack that helicopters can offer. Thus, after the aircraft carriers phase out, the Fleet Air Arm will retain three principal tasks—anti-submarine, surface search and attack and Commando carrying. Decisions have not yet been made about the scale of shore support, including Royal Naval Air Stations, that will be needed for the Fleet Air Arm in the 1970s.