§ Mr. JenkinTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence what plans he has for the(a) lease and (b) procurement of VIP aircraft; and what aircraft fulfil this role. [117494]
Mr. IngrainThe aircraft currently used to carry VIPs are primarily those of 32 (The Royal) Squadron. Two BAe 146, five BAe 125 aircraft and three leased Twin Squirrel helicopters are used. Routinely one Royal Navy Jetstream aircraft from RNAS Yeovilton is also available. Number 32 (The Royal) Squadron is primarily established for the support of military and government communications tasks in times of crisis and1120W war; the Royal Household, government ministers and senior military officers may use spare capacity during peacetime. Since the Royal Air Force ceased providing long range VIP transport in December 2001, Royal and Ministerial long range VIP transport is undertaken by civil airline charter or scheduled flight.
The Ministry of Defence has no plans to procure or lease aircraft specifically for long range VIP transport, but is looking at whether the service might be provided by the Future Strategic Tanker Aircraft, subject to this being cost effective. We will be examining in due course how the capability for short to medium range VIP transport will be provided when existing aircraft reach the end of their service life.