§ Mr. Menzies CampbellTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence what was the annual track mileage allocation and the average track mileage completed for (a) Warrior variants, (b) Challenger One, (c) Challenger Two, (d) Saxon variants, (f) AVF 430 variants, (g) Sabre, (h) Striker, (i) Scimitar, (j) Spartan, (k) Sultan (l) Samaritan and (m) Samson in each of the last five years; and if he will make a statement. [109496]
§ Mr. SpellarI have provided details of the annual allocations and annual usage for each vehicle type. However, given the disposition of the vehicle fleet, the mix of operational and training deployments, average figures would be unrepresentative for the fleets as a whole.
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Annual track mileage allocations and usage Serial Vehicle Year (April-March) Annual allocation (miles) Annual usage (miles) (a) Warrior 1995–96 845,797 681,546 1996–97 845,797 941,771 1997–98 727,038 747,527 1998–99 410,124 706,387 1999–2000 410,124 Not yet available
Annual track mileage allocations and usage Serial Vehicle Year (April-March) Annual allocation (Miles) Annual usage (miles) (b) Challenger 1 1995–96 241,221 241,103 1996–97 241,221 243,064 1997–98 262,517 200,333 1998–99 190,148 191,195 1999–2000 136,087 Not yet available (c) Challenger 2 1995–96 n/a — 1996–97 n/a — 1997–98 n/a — 1998–99 57,790 12,832 1999–2000 139,194 Not yet available (d) Saxon 1995–96 616,896 487,023 1996–97 616,896 660,481 1997–98 555,206 535,395 1998–99 746,000 381,830 1999–2000 616,000 Not yet available (e) FV430 variants 1995–96 627,177 685,411 1996–97 627,177 824,423 1997–98 908,238 573,954 1998–99 658,684 471,922 1999–2000 658,684 Not yet available (f)-(l) CVR(T) variants1 1995–96 1,326,721 1,595,158 1996–97 1,326,721 1,526,835 1997–98 2,042,500 1,330,956 1998–99 1,516,000 1,118,446 1999–2000 1,516,000 Not yet available 1 CVRT(T) variants include Sabre, Striker, Scimitar, Spartan, Sultan, Samaritan and Samson Track mileage allocations are a tool to aid both operational and financial planning. The overall allocations cover training and operational requirements and are made on the basis of anticipated operational scenarios and previous activity levels. Centrally held information on usage is drawn from records submitted by each Unit and can serve only as an indicator of trends rather than a detailed comparator. Vehicle usage may vary considerably from the planned allocations where unforeseen commitments or changes occur in-year. Similarly, the use of armoured vehicles in recent operating environments has reduced to reflect the nature of the operations.