§ Lord Astor of Heverasked Her Majesty's Government:
What percentage of the Sea King HC MK 4 fleet are to have their Gnome engines upgraded to H-1400T specification. [HL1989]
§ Lord BachEight per cent of the Sea King Mk4 aircraft fleet are currently fitted with Gnome H1400–1T engines and these are scheduled to be removed. A pool of H1400–1T engines will be retained to support any future operations in hot climates.
125WAThere are currently no plans to introduce the H1400–1T engine as a standard fit to the Sea King Mk4 fleet.
§ Lord Astor of Heverasked Her Majesty's Government:
When they will meet their target of having 13 Sea Kings at ASaC MK 7 configuration; and what is the predicted service life of these helicopters. [HL1990]
§ Lord BachThe replacement programme for the two Sea King aircraft lost during Operation TELIC is planned to be completed by January 2007. At this point the fleet size will be restored to 13 Sea King aircraft in the ASaC Mk7 configuration.
Based on current predictions it is expected that the Sea King ASaC fleet will remain in service with the Royal Navy until well into the next decade.