§ Mr. Tebbitasked the Secretary of State for Defence, if, pursuant to the reply given by the Minister of State to the hon. Member for Chingford, Official Report, 26th April, column 1011, concerning the fighter aircraft in the inventory of the Royal Air Force during the early 1980s expected to main air superiority over the battle front, he will list the aircraft types at present in service which he expects to perform that rôle together with the dates of their first entry into Royal Air Force service and in the case of United States designed aircraft into the service of the United States armed forces.
§ Dr. GilbertAir superiority over the battlefield will be achieved by NATO with a combination of fighter aircraft and surface-to-air missile systems, and with the ability to attack enemy airfields, surface-to-air missile systems, radars and command and control facilities. The United Kingdom contribution to this NATO task consists of the SAM defences of the land forces, Phantom aircraft acting as interceptors and attack aircraft such as the Jaguar and the Harrier. The United Kingdom version of the Phantom aircraft first entered service with the RAF in 1968. Phantoms entered service with the US armed forces in the early 1960s. The Harrier and Jaguar entered service with the RAF in 1969 and 1973, respectively.