Armed Forces: Aircraft

House of Lords written question – answered at on 14 February 2012.

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Photo of Lord West of Spithead Lord West of Spithead Labour

To ask Her Majesty's Government what action they are taking to engage ex-maritime patrol aircraft aircrew and analysts in the Royal Navy's anti-submarine warfare force.

Photo of Lord Astor of Hever Lord Astor of Hever The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Defence

While there are currently a number of gaps for both Merlin observers and aircrew, within the Royal Navy Merlin anti-submarine warfare (ASW) force, the training pipeline is full and will remain so until completion of the conversion to Merlin Mk2 in April 2013. Where there are Royal Air Force ASW aircrew currently serving within the Royal Navy ASW Merlin force then, where possible, they will either continue to be engaged or, if wishing to do so, will be considered for transfer to the Royal Navy. There are currently no wider plans to engage ex-maritime patrol aircraft aircrew in the Royal Navy's ASW force.

The Royal Air Force has also embarked on the Seedcorn initiative whereby their qualified aircrew conduct one-way exchanges with a variety of Commonwealth and allied forces. This initiative is aimed at sustaining the Ministry of Defence's ability to operate high-end fixed-wing maritime patrol aircraft, whilst maintaining the highly perishable specialist skill-sets of its personnel. The Royal Air Force has also deployed maritime-experienced aircrew to other Royal Air Force aircraft types where their generic intelligence, surveillance, target acquisition and reconnaissance skills can be exploited.

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