§ Mr. Nicholas Wintertonasked the Secretary of State for Defence (1) what comparison he has made between the cost of the Nimrod and the 748 Coastguarder for oil rig patrols and fishery protection duties; and if he will make a statement;
(2) if he will now consider increasing the number of 748 Coastguarders for oil rig patrols and fishery protection;
(3) what would be the cost of using the 748 Coastguarder for oil rig patrols and for fishery protection;
(4) whether the 748 Coastguarder is a cheaper aircraft to use for oil rig patrols and fishery protection than the Nimrod.
§ Mr. WellbelovedThe HS-748 Coast-guarder was not available when an aircraft was selected in 1975 for the offshore protection role. Also at that time, to minimise additional support costs, a type was preferred which was already in the RAF inventory. Consequently, the Nimrod was chosen and has been performing these duties admirably along with its other tasks. As my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Defence said on 31st March 1977—[Vol. 929. column 590]— there is no question of replacing any of. the Nimrods in the fishery protection role. No Coastguarder is used for this work in the United Kingdom. I understand that it would certainly be a contender if we did not have Nimrods already available and we were starting from scratch. However, to work out the cost of a hypothetical force of these aircraft it 813W would be necessary to decide how many were needed, where they would be based, and how they would be operated, calculating the additional costs of spares, personnel, training, works services, and other forms of support. An hourly operating cost is an inadequate basis for such a costing, but bearing in mind that new aircraft would need to be purchased, and on the basis of such figures as are available, it is likely that in terms of the cost per square mile searched, use of the Coast-guarder on the task as it now exists would prove no cheaper than the Nimrod.