§ Mr. RedmondTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence what proportion of the RAF Tornado GR1/1A fleet will be equipped with thermal imaging airborne laser designator equipment; and what is the expected resultant increase in the requirement for night flying training by RAF Tornado aircraft.
§ Mr. HanleyIt is not our practice to release operational information such as that concerning the number of TIALD-equipped aircraft. There are no plans to increase night flying training in order to practice TIALD operations at night, since it should be possible to practice these within the current Tornado GR1 night flying training programme.
§ Mr. RedmondTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence what is the current annual requirement for live delivery of the JP233 weapon in the continuation training syllabus of combat-ready Tornado GR1 aircrew; and where the live firing is carried out.
§ Mr. HanleyThere is no annual requirement for live delivery of the JP233 weapon in the continuation training syllabus of combat-ready Tornado GR1 aircrew. Live firing is not carried out during training.