§ Lord Hardy of Wathasked Her Majesty's Government:
What action is being taken to provide the Royal Air Force with heavy lift capability. [HL329]
§ Lord GilbertThe Strategic Defence Review concluded that we needed to improve our strategic air transport capability, to allow us to move more powerful forces quickly to an overseas theatre. In the short term, we are planning to acquire four C-17 aircraft or their equivalent. In the longer term, we are considering a replacement for our remaining transport aircraft, for which the European Future Large Aircraft is a contender.
5WABids have been invited to meet the short-term and long-term requirements in parallel competitions, with responses due back from industry by the end of January next year. The parallel competitions will ensure that all options for both the short term and the long term are considered, and will allow us to choose the best.