§ Mr. Bestasked the Secretary of State for Defence if he will give the total cost and the amount of (a) fuel allocation in the current year for Hercules aircraft training and (b) fuel used and projected to be used by Hercules aircraft in Ethiopia until their withdrawal.
§ Mr. LeeDuring the current financial year the fuel allocation for Hercules training is 35,400,000 litres. By the end of 1985 our aircraft in Ethiopia will have used some 13,000,000 litres of fuel. As to costs, it is not the practice to release such information, which is commercially confidential.
§ Mr. Bestasked the Secretary of State for Defence what assessment he has made of the effects on Hercules aircraft training for military purposes of the use of Hercules aircraft in Ethiopia.
§ Mr. LeeThe deployment of the Hercules aircraft to Ethiopia has had some effect on the number if airframes and the total number of air transport flying hours available for other tasks. The effect on training in the circumstances has been considered acceptable.