§ Mr. RedmondTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence what was the purpose of the deployment of RAF Tornados to Murted air base, Turkey, in April 1994; how many aircraft took part; how many low-level sorties were carried out; and what was the minimum permitted altitude for these sorties.
§ Mr. SoamesEight Tornado GR1 aircraft were deployed to Akinci air base, formerly known as Murted Air Base Turkey, from 8 to 21 April 1994, to participate in the NATO exercise Distant Thunder 94.
The Tornado crews flew 92 low-level sorties at 500ft descending to a minimum of 250ft when engaged in target approach runs.