HC Deb 12 May 2003 vol 405 cc47-50W
Dr. Julian Lewis

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many Sonar 2087 sets(a) have been and (b) are scheduled to be ordered for Royal Navy vessels; and how many vessels, broken down by class, are to be fitted with them. [111311]

Mr. Ingram

Six Sonar 2087 ship sets have been ordered and a further six are planned to be ordered. It is planned to fit all 12 to Type 23 Frigates. There are at present no plans to fit Sonar 2087 to any other Royal Navy vessels.

Dr. Julian Lewis

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what plans he has for the continuation in service of each of the(a) batch 3 Type-22 and (b) Type-23 frigates. [111315]

Mr. Ingram

At present the Royal Navys Type 22 and Type 23 Frigates are scheduled to remain in service until around the middle of the next decade from which point they will be progressively withdrawn.

Dr. Julian Lewis

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will list the(a) destroyers and (b) frigates which (i) are and (ii) are not fully operational together with the reasons for non-availability of each of the non-operational vessels. [111318]

Mr. Ingram

The Royal Navy has 31 frigates and destroyers, of which 26 (± 1) are normally folly operational in Fleet time and available for tasking, and five in deep maintenance. Additionally, HMS Nottingham is currently being repaired following her grounding in July 2002.

(i) Frigates and destroyers available for tasking are:

Destroyers

  • HMS Cardiff
  • HMS Newcastle
  • HMS Glasgow
  • HMS Southampton
  • HMS Liverpool
  • HMS Manchester
  • HMS Edinburgh
  • HMS York

Frigates

  • HMS Cornwall
  • HMS Cumberland
  • HMS Chatham
  • HMS Norfolk
  • HMS Argyll
  • HMS Marlborough
  • HMS Lancaster
  • HMS Iron Duke
  • HMS Westminster
  • HMS Northumberland
  • HMS Richmond
  • HMS Grafton
  • HMS Sutherland
  • HMS Somerset
  • HMS Kent
  • HMS Portland
  • HMS St. Albans

(ii) Frigates and destroyers not available for tasking are:

Reason for non-availability
Destroyers
HMS Exeter Upkeep maintenance in dry dock
HMS Gloucester Just started conducting Sea Acceptance Trails
HMS Nottingham Dry dock undergoing repair work following grounding
Frigates
HMS Cambeltown Nearing completion of Sea Acceptance Trials
HMS Monmouth Mid-way through Sea Acceptance Trials
HMS Montrose Upkeep maintenance in dry dock

Dr. Julian Lewis

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what lessons he has drawn from Royal Navy operations in the Gulf in respect of(a) the number of escort vessels required to safeguard large units and (b) tactics to ensure security against suicide attacks against warships. [111332]

Mr. Ingram

A process is in hand to gather all the lessons learned from recent Royal Navy operations and the conflict in the Gulf region.