§ Dr. Julian LewisTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence (1) whether Harrier GR7/9 aircraft will be able to operate from CVF prior to the entry into the service of the joint strike fighter; [152242]
(2) when he expects the joint strike fighter to enter into service. [152243]
§ Mr. IngramIt would in theory be possible to operate Harrier GR9 from CVF but we have no requirement to do so. Current planning assumptions are that the primary aircraft operating from CVF will be the short take off vertical landing (STOVL) variant of the joint strike fighter which has been selected as the future joint combat aircraft (FJCA). Both CVF and FJCA are currently planned to come into service in 2012.