HC Deb 22 April 2002 vol 384 c5W
David Wright

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many times RAF aircraft(a) were fired upon and (b) responded with fire in Iraqi airspace in the last 12 months. [45135]

Mr. Ingram

RAF aircraft undertake patrols in Iraqi airspace as part of the international coalition's No Fly Zone (NFZ) enforcement operations. A single coalition NFZ patrol involves multiple aircraft types in an integrated package. Surface-to-air fire by Iraqi air defence weapons is recorded as an attack on the whole, rather than against individual aircraft types.

Between 1 March 2001 and 20 March 2002 attacks on coalition aircraft by Iraqi Air Defence weapons, including anti-aircraft artillery and surface-to-air missiles, were recorded on 488 occasions.

On four occasions RAF aircraft released ordnance in self-defence responses to these attacks.

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