§ Miss McIntoshTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence what assessment he has made of the(a) safety and (b) continuing need for practice low flying for (i) home and (ii) NATO defence commitments. [97929]
§ Mr. KilfoyleWe continue to pay close attention to the need for low flying when assessing our national and international military training requirements. Low level penetration of hostile airspace remains an effective tactic in many scenarios. The high readiness states which our aircrew have to maintain for participation in operations or preparation for conflict only allows for the honing of low flying expertise, not its creation. All aspects of flight safety are kept under continuous review.