§ Mr. Gwilym Robertsasked the Secretary of State for Defence if he will give preference to the purchase of Tristar rather than the DC10 for air transport purposes in order to support British industry.
§ Mr. Pattie:There are no plans to acquire either Tristar or DC10 aircraft for the Royal Air Force's transport force. The acquisition of a small number of secondhand wide-bodied jets for conversion to the strategic air-to-air refuelling role is under consideration.
§ Mr. Gwilym Robertsasked the Secretary of State for Defence what studies are being carried out on the conversion of Tristar and DC10 aircraft into air transports by increasing their range by mid-air fuelling.
§ Mr. Pattie:None. We are, however, looking into the possibility of acquiring a small number of wide-bodied jets for conversion to the strategic tanker role. The possibility of providing such tankers with a receiver capability will be considered as part of our study.