§ Mr. Strangasked the Secretary of State for Defence (1) if he will list for each of the last 10 years (a) the naval exercises in which Royal Navy vessels have taken part, (b) the naval exercises in which Royal Navy vessels have taken part which have mainly involved ship manoeuvres north of the Greenland-Iceland-Norway gap, (c) the naval exercises in which Royal Navy vessels have taken part 163W which have partially involved ship manoeuvres north of the Greenland-Iceland-Norway gap and (d) the naval exercises in which Royal Navy ships have taken part which have mainly involved vessel manoeuvres in the Norwegian sea;
(2) if he will list for each of the last 10 years (a) the naval exercises in which Royal Navy vessels have taken part which have partially involved ship manoeuvres in the Norwegian sea, (b) the naval exercises in which Royal Navy vessels have taken part which have involved any ship manoeuvres in the Barents sea, (c) the Royal Navy forces assigned to the east Atlantic region and (d) naval exercises that have included simulated air strikes against targets in the north of the USSR that the Royal Navy has taken part in.
§ Mr. Ian StewartThe major exercises, and their approximate location, in which Royal Navy vessels have taken part are described in the annual "Statement on the Defence Estimates". It is not our general practice to give details of the operational manoeuvres of Royal Navy surface ships and submarines, or details of exercise scenarios. The vast majority of Royal Navy major surface ships and submarines are committed to the Supreme Allied Commander Atlantic and the Commander-in-Chief Channel. Of these vessels, the numbers committed to SACLANT are significantly greater, and in practice a high proportion of these vessels has been maintained in the eastern Atlantic.