HC Deb 22 December 1988 vol 144 cc360-1W
Mr. Wilson

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what peacetime attrition rates were assumed for(a) Royal Air Force Tornado GR.1 aircraft and (b) Royal Air Force Tornado F.2/3 aircraft under the production plan agreed in 1982; and what changes have since been made to these assumed rates.

Mr. Neubert

This information is classified.

Mr. Wilson

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what changes were made to the deployment plans for(a) Royal Air Force Tornado GR.1 aircraft and (b) Royal Air Force Tornado F.2/3 aircraft as a result of the sale of Tornado aircraft to Saudi Arabia and Oman.

Mr. Archie Hamilton

As a result of the 1985 sale to Saudi Arabia the build-up of the RAF's Tornado GRI force has proceeded slightly more slowly t[...]an had originally been planned.

The recently announced sale of Tornado aircraft to Saudi Arabia and Oman is expected to have no effect upon the Royal Air Force's deployment plans.

Mr. Wilson

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what has been the actual attrition rate of the Tornado GR.1 since its entry into Royal Air Force service, expressed in terms of(a) the rate of category 5 accidents per 10,000 flying hours, and (b) the percentage of the total in-service fleet lost in accidents.

Mr. Neubert

Since the entry of the Tornado GR.1 into RAF service in 1980, the major accident rate per 10,000 hours flown was 0.7 as of 16 December 1988. In that time, 17 aircraft (8.5 per cent.) of the total number of aircraft delivered to the service have been destroyed in 16 major accidents.