§ Mr. RosindellTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence what plans he has for the withdrawal of Sea Harrier fighters over the next five years. [144673]
§ Mr. IngramI refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 28 February 2002,Official Report, column 1453W to the hon.Member for Broxtowe (Dr. Palmer).
§ Mr. RosindellTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement on(a) the availability and (b) the value for money of spare parts for RAF GR7 and GR9 Harriers compared with Sea Harriers. [144674]
§ Mr. IngramThe availability and value for money of spares for the Harrier GR7/9 are comparable to those of the Sea Harrier. The current availability of spares fully meets our requirements.
§ Mr. RosindellTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence how much has been spent on(a) repair and (b) upgrading of RAF Sea Harrier fighters within the last 18 months. [144680]
§ Mr. IngramThe maintenance and repair of the Sea Harrier is undertaken at a variety of locations: operating units (first and second line); the Defence Aviation Repair Agency (third line); and a number of aerospace companies in the United Kingdom (fourth line). Maintenance work falls into a number of categories, some is preventative or routine, other work is based around fault diagnosis and rectification. The wide range of information is not held centrally and could only be provided at disproportionate cost.
No Sea Harrier upgrade programme has been undertaken in the last 18 months and there are no plans for one in the future.
§ Mr. RosindellTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence how much he estimates it would cost to adapt the planned RAF GR7 and GR9 Harriers to accommodate(a) air-to-air radar and (b) the beyond visual range advanced medium range missile system. [144681]
§ Mr. IngramThere are no plans to further enhance the air defence capability of the RAF's Harrier GR7/9 fleet. However, it is estimated that the cost of fitting air to air radar and the beyond visual range advanced medium missile system to these aircraft would be in excess of £600 million.
§ Mr. RosindellTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence what plans he has to provide RAF GR7 and GR9 Harriers with further air defence capabilities in addition to the provision of Sidewinder missiles. [144682]
§ Mr. IngramWhen the Harrier GR7 fleet is upgraded to GR9 standard it will be optimised for the offensive support role rather than air defence. Harriers will continue to carry the very capable Sidewinder AIM 9-L missile, but we currently have no further plans to enhance the air defence capabilities of the GR7 or GR9 Harriers.