§ Mr. CohenTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will reconsider his Department's policy on the fitting of flight data recorders to military aircraft. [2550]
§ Mr. SpellarIt is our policy to fit all new aircraft with flight data recorders. Retrofits are considered on a case-by-case basis taking account of service life remaining, aircraft safety record, cost and operational limitations. We have no plans to change this policy.
Data recorders have already been fitted to the following in-service aircraft fleets: Harrier GR7/T10, Hawk, Lynx, Nimrod, Sentry, Tornado F3, Tornado GR1, Tristar, Tucano and VC 10 C1. Retrofit programmes are planned for the BAe 125, BAe 146, Chinook, Lynx, Puma, Sea King and VC10 K fleets; installation into the Jaguar and Sea Harrier/Harrier T4 fleets is under consideration.