§ Mr. RedmondTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence (1) if he will list by(a) tactical training area and (b) Ministry of Defence ranges for the years (i) 1988, (ii) 1989 and (iii) 1990 to date, the number of flying sorties that have been carried out by military jet aircraft; and if he will show in his answer from what NATO air force they came;
(2) if he will list by low-flying area and for the years (a) 1988, (b) 1989 and (c) for 1990 to date, the number of low-flying sorties that have been carried out by military jet aircraft, and if he will show in his answer from what North Atlantic Treaty Organisation air force they came.
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§ Mr. Kenneth CarlisleIt would require disproportionate cost and effort to provide the information in the detail requested. The hon. Member may however wish to refer to the statistics on low-flying sorties for years up to 1988 presented in evidence by my Department to the recent Defence Committee inquiry into low flying and published in the Committee's fifth report for the Session 1989–90 (HC 120) at page 140. The numbers of low-flying sorties carried out in the United Kingdom in 1989 and 1990 to date, on the same basis, are as follows:
1989 1 1990 Total sorties 144,323 61,977 Numbers by aircraft type Buccaneer 2,029 728 F-4 2,469 912 Harrier 6,483 2,720 Hawk 17,601 7,535 Jaguar 7,278 3,202 Jet Provost 13,797 5,382 Tornado 21,741 10,133 A-10 11,337 5,358 F-111 11,903 4,988 Other aircraft including helicopters 49,685 21,019 1 January to May. Low-flying sortie statistics are not broken down geographically, but an indication of the proportion of low-flying movements carried out in different low-flying areas appears at page 159 of the report.