§ Mr. SwayneTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to his answer of 22 October 2001,Official Report, column 4W, on the Apache helicopter programme, (a) how many personnel are being trained in the US, (b) what training is being provided and (c) what the cost is to the defence budget. [10483]
§ Mr. IngramSixteen army helicopter pilots are undergoing what is known as conversion training in the US at a cost of £3.15 million. This training, including the use of simulators, will qualify them to fly the US Apache AH-64A model; they will then undertake a short conversion in the UK to the UK's Apache AH Mk1 model. The cost of this US training is being met from liquidated damages the Department has received from its training contractor and from existing funds that would otherwise have been paid to that contractor for training courses which it cannot yet produce (as a result of the delay to the Full Mission Simulator).