§ Mr. BercowTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence what proportion of Serb non-portable air defence capability remains unaffected by NATO activity; and what assessment he has made of the threat from such weapons to NATO low-flying capability. [86733]
§ Mr. George RobertsonDuring Operation Allied Force, the threat posed to low-flying NATO aircraft from man-portable air defence systems has been significant. These systems have a capability from well below 100 feet to over 14,000 feet and from a quarter of a mile to over two miles. NATO has taken appropriate counter measures which have been successful.
Reports from NATO pilots indicate that around 100 man-portable SAMs were launched by the Serb military during the now suspended air campaign. Man-portable air defence systems, by their nature, are very difficult to track. We believe that a number of these systems were 307W destroyed during attacks against Serb military locations, but we estimate that the vast majority probably survived.
Under the terms of the Military Technical Agreement (MTA), all MANPADS held by the Serb military should now have been withdrawn from Kosovo. The risk to NATO forces from MANPADS is currently assessed to be very low.
§ Mr. BercowTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence what guidance has been issued to troops in the Balkan theatre on measures to be taken to protect them from spent depleted-uranium weaponry. [86359]
§ Mr. George RobertsonI refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave to my hon. Friend the Member for Thurrock (Mr. Mackinlay) on 16 June 1999,Official Report, column 148.
Averages for the weather station at Southport (Greenbank): January February March April May June July August September October November December air temperature (degree C): 1994 Highest max 10.7 9.9 13.8 19.7 21.5 25.3 26.2 25.0 19.1 17.4 15.2 14.7 Mean max 7.6 5.4 9.4 11.3 14.4 16.8 20.7 18.4 15.3 13.5 12.3 9.2 Lowest min -2.1 -5.5 1.8 -0.3 2.7 6.2 8.5 8.2 5.9 1.4 1.5 -3.1 Mean min 2.6 0.2 4.4 4.5 6.9 10.7 12.7 12.3 9.6 7.3 7.7 3.8 Total rainfall (mm) 86.6 49.9 76.9 58.0 37.6 38.4 72.2 59.7 99.6 115.2 90.4 145.5 Total sunshine (hrs) 64.6 66.5 102.9 191.0 175.6 148.0 220.0 174.3 127.4 106.6 58.6 44.1 1995 Highest max 12.1 11.3 15.3 20.0 23.8 29.4 29.1 31.2 21.8 24.5 14.0 11.9 Mean max 7.3 8.7 8.5 11.8 15.4 17.9 22.1 23.7 17.2 16.0 10.6 4.8 Lowest min -3.7 0.4 -2.0 1.0 -0.4 7.0 10.7 8.7 8.2 3.0 -2.0 8.7 Mean min 1.8 3.8 2.2 5.3 7.7 10.9 14.5 14.2 11.0 9.7 4.8 0.3 Total rainfall (mm) 147.5 106.1 57.6 16.2 67.3 24.0 40.8 12.6 84.7 25.2 48.6 31.9 Total sunshine (hrs) 55.7 73.5 132.4 197.4 216.0 233.3 224.2 278.1 154.6 110.5 72.6 40.8 1996 Highest max 11.4 9.5 10.5 19.4 22.3 25.7 24.9 28.2 22.1 18.8 15.2 10.5 Mean max 6.4 5.7 7.2 11.8 12.7 17.4 18.9 20.1 17.3 14.6 9.2 5.9 Lowest min -4.9 -5.7 -1.8 -0.6 0.1 4.9 6.8 9.6 3.5 4.8 -3.2 -4.4 Mean min 3.0 -0.1 2.4 5.3 5.4 8.9 10.8 11.8 8.7 8.2 3.0 0.8 Total rainfall (mm) 19.4 58.3 30.2 59.1 38.0 31.7 40.3 74.3 42.7 112.9 105.5 47.7 Total sunshine (hrs) 21.3 94.8 87.5 121.4 211.7 249.4 218.6 181.2 158.6 103.7 85.4 57.5 1997 Highest max 12.3 12.2 16.8 17.2 25.1 22.6 25.1 29.4 18.9 19.6 16.1 13.2 Mean max 5.7 9.2 10.9 12.2 15.9 17.4 19.9 22.3 17.0 13.9 11.1 8.6