§ Mr. HancockTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence what is the forecast service life of Harrier GR7 aircraft engines. [66160]
§ Mr. SpellarThe Harrier GR7 aircraft entered RAF service in 1987. On current plans, the Harrier GR7 fleet, including the engines, will achieve a service life of some 30 years.
The Harrier GR7 is fitted with the Pegasus Mark 105 engine. Each of the engine's component parts has an approved life and may be replaced during the life of the whole engine in accordance with established maintenance policy.
§ Mr. HancockTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many technical support personnel are required to support the deployment away from existing RAF bases of flights of(a) four and (b) eight RAF Harrier aircraft. [66669]
§ Mr. Doug HendersonThe number of technical support personnel deployed to support four or eight RAF Harrier aircraft is dependent on several factors, including the operational requirements, the flying task, the number of hours to be worked in any one day and the amount of support available from the Host Nation. However, a flight of four or eight aircraft would be likely to generate a minimum of 79 and 128 technical support personnel respectively.