§ Mr. FoulkesTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many aircraft, and of what types, are scheduled to be deployed to Goose Bay for low flying training in 1994; and what are their planned dates of deployment.
§ Mr. HanleyCurrently, the only aircraft type planned to deploy to Goose Bay for low-flying training in 1994 is the Tornado GR1. Nine aircraft will deploy at the start of the season and will be used by each squadron in rotation. The planned deployments dates for the squadrons are:
- 18 April to 2 May
- 2 May to 16 May
- 16 May to 30 May
- 30 May to 13 June
- 13 June to 27 June
- 8 August to 22 August
- 22 August to 5 September
- 5 September to 19 September
§ Mr. FoulkesTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many aircraft, and of what types, were involved in the Italian air force deployment to West Freugh during November 1993; what were the dates of the deployment; how many low-level sorties were undertaken by Italian aircraft during the deployment, and at what minimum authorised altitudes; and if he will make a statement on the nature and scope of the agreement with the Italian authorities granting access to United Kingdom weapons range and low flying facilities for Italian military aircraft.
§ Mr. HanleyThe Italian air force—IAF—aircraft deployed to the test and evaluation range at West Freugh between 5 and 12 November 1993 were as follows:
997W
- 2 AMX—Fast Jets
- 2 G-222—Transport Aircraft
- 1 HH-3F—Helicopter
The aircraft flew a total of 17 low-level sorties over the range area; they were authorised to fly down to a minimum height of 500 ft. No low-level sorties were flown in the United Kingdom low flying system—UKLFS.
There is no bilateral arrangement between the RAF and IAF which facilitates IAF use of RAF weapons ranges outside of a NATO exercise or squadron exchange.
Low flying in the UKLFS by the IAF is carried out under reciprocal arrangements which permit RAF aircraft to fly at low level in Italy. In general, the IAF is not authorised to fly below 500 ft in the United Kingdom.