To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what (a) manned aircraft and (b) unmanned aerial vehicles will be able to land and operate on the Batch 2 Offshore Patrol Vessels.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what 29 design requirements were requested by the Royal Navy for the Batch 2 Offshore Patrol Vessels not in the design of the initial batch of vessels.

I believe that the 29 design requirements the Honourable Member refers to are the differences between the Batch 2 Offshore Patrol Vessels (OPVs) and those delivered to the Brazilian Navy, which were not the same design as the initial Batch. The new requirements were:

1 Watertight Integrity Modifications

2 Fire Safety Modifications

3 Enhanced firefighting facilities

4 Automatic Emergency Lights

5 Flight Deck Officer Position

6 Domestic refrigeration Modifications

7 Sewage Treatment Plant Modifications

8 Exhaust System Modifications – (No longer required)

9 Ballast Water Modifications

10 Merlin helicopter operation

11 Helicopter In-Flight Refuelling

12 Helicopter refuelling modifications

13 Changes to ship’s minimum operating temperature

14 Davit Modifications

15 Force Protection Weapon Modifications

16 Install WECDIS/WAIS

17 Install Combat Management System

18 Military communications modifications

19 Magazine Protection

20 Radio Equipment Room Modifications

21 Change lighting and domestic power voltage from 115v to 230v

22 Codification of equipment

23 Provision of life saving equipment

24 Replace navigation radars

25 Install Military GPS

26 Install flight deck landing grid

27 Fuel efficiency monitoring

28 Provide emergency communication equipment

29 Machinery Space Walkway

The manned aircraft able to use the Royal Navy’s new OPVs are Merlin and Wildcat helicopters. There are no current plans for the operation of unmanned vehicles from these vessels.