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Low Flying

Volume 410: debated on Friday 19 September 2003

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To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many low flying sorties by military jet aircraft of the (a) NATO air forces and (b) RAF were carried out last year within the UK flying system. [129197]

The information is not held in the form requested. The amount of military low flying that takes place in the United Kingdom is expressed in hours rather than by number of sorties, which can vary significantly from minutes to several hours. A statement on the Pattern of Low Flying Across the UK is published annually, with copies placed in the Libraries of both Houses. The statement for the training year 2002–03 records that foreign-based aircraft were booked into the UK Low Flying System for some 174 hours (this figure covers all foreign aircraft with the exception of United States Air Forces in Europe (USAFE) aircraft which are based in the UK). The total amount of booked low flying by all military aircraft was some 47,058 hours.The statement for the training year 2002–03 records the amount of booked low flying in Low Flying Area 7 (an area that broadly equates to the land area of Wales, except for a small area of northeast Powys) was some 7,635 hours.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many low flying military sorties were undertaken within Low Flying Area 7 of the UK low flying system in 2002. [129198]

The information is not held in the form requested. The amount of military low flying that takes place in the United Kingdom is better expressed in hours rather than by number of sorties, which can vary significantly from minutes to several hours. On this basis, a statement of the Pattern of Low Flying Across the UK is published annually, with copies placed in the Libraries of both Houses. The statement for the training year 2002–03 records that the amount of booked low flying in Low Flying Area 7 (an area that broadly equates to the land area of Wales, except for a small area of northeast Powys) was approximately 7,635 hours.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence (1) in which military conflicts of the past decade low flying tactics have been used by the RAF; [129202(2) how many sorties have been flown by UK RAF pilots at a level of 100 ft during

(a) military conflicts over the past six years and (b) the recent war in Iraq. [129216]

Low flying tactics have been used in military conflicts in the Balkans, Sierra Leone, Afghanistan and Iraq. Although fast jet low flying has not been employed in all of these conflicts, I can confirm that a number of fast jet sorties were flown at low level during the recent operation in Iraq. The heights at which operational sorties are undertaken vary according to the assessed threat at the time. Details of the number of sorties and the heights at which they were flown are not held centrally.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what arrangements govern the training of foreign nationals in low flying military exercises by the RAF. [129203]

Low flying in the United Kingdom by non UK-based foreign air forces, whether in RAF-led exercises or any other training, is closely controlled and generally only permitted on a reciprocal basis. Foreign aircrew are bound by the same restrictions as those that apply to UK aircrew, but additionally are not generally permitted to operate under more favourable conditions than those applied to our forces in the country concerned. All foreign aircrew receive a face to face brief from an appropriately qualified member of British forces before they can operate in the UK Low Flying System.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence (1) what percentage of low flying military aircraft exercises conducted in the United Kingdom in each of the past 10 years were undertaken by foreign nationals; [129204(2) how many foreign pilots have been involved in low flying military training exercises in (a) the United Kingdom and (b)Wales in each of the last 10 years. [129206]

Low flying military exercises are not generally conducted by foreign air forces alone. The number of pilots involved in low flying is not recorded centrally. The amount of low flying by foreign military aircraft is typically less than 1 per cent. of all the low flying training that takes place in the United Kingdom.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many accidents involving low flying military aircraft in the United Kingdom have been reported in each of the past 10 years. [129205]

The number of accidents recorded to aircraft in the United Kingdom Low Flying System in the last 10 training years is:

April to MarchAccidents
1994–953
1995–963
1996–970
1997–981
April to MarchAccidents
1998–992
1999–20005
2000–013
2001–020
2002–032
April 2003–?Present2

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many complaints his Department received with regard to military low flying aircraft in each parliamentary constituency in each of the last 10 years. [129208]

The information is not held in the form requested. The number of individual complaints recorded for each county (based on the information supplied by the complainants) over the last three years is given in the following table. Detailed records are only retained for a three-year period.

Complaints per training year
County2000–012001–022002–03
No county provided111311
Aberdeenshire464845
Angus131635
Argyll and Bute231219
Avon262017
Ayrshire14147
Bedfordshire423819
Berkshire313962
Berwickshire272215
Borders617356
Buckinghamshire294027
Cambridgeshire99122109
Carmarthenshire787363
Central17148
Ceredigion303122
Cheshire152522
Cleveland662
Clwyd161422
Cornwall9110872
Cumbria138165218
Denbighshire231
Derbyshire132018
Devon178211197
Dorset59120102
Dumfries and Galloway159165130
Durham91526
Dyfed141114109
East Sussex333329
East Yorkshire181512
Essex566378
Fife222644
Glamorgan111213
Gloucestershire96120102
Grampian161242
Greater Manchester003
Gwent111535
Gwynedd942676
Hampshire249243225
Hereford and Worcester106117150
Hertfordshire181522
Highlands12486131
Humberside271516
Isle of Man011
Isle of Wight100
Kent616359
Lanarkshire5914
Lancashire2817107
Leicestershire221528
Lincolnshire143150110
Complaints per training year
County2000–012001–022002–03
London151318
Lothian594757
Manchester110
Merseyside218
Middlesex136
Monmouthshire6124
Moray101414
Norfolk276275246
North Yorkshire168143171
Northamptonshire395756
Northumberland1196085
Nottinghamshire365333
Orkney131418
Oxfordshire887388
Pembrokeshire207147
Perthshire212948
Powys878396
Ross-Shire162551
Rutland110
Shropshire526767
Somerset196224226
South Yorkshire22913
Staffordshire333131
Strathclyde482441
Suffolk148138110
Surrey262144
Tayside653444
Tyne and Wear227
Warwickshire252020
West Midlands402
West Sussex436467
West Yorkshire143114
Western Isles0312
Wiltshire8710897
Yorkshire1147
Total4,2704,3504,520f

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many and what percentage of military low-flying services over the Welsh Military Tactical Training Area, this year was undertaken by foreign nationals. [129194]

Foreign air forces are not permitted to operate in any of the three Tactical Training Areas including the one that exists over mid-Wales.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many RAF low-flying sorties have been within three miles of (a) Kirkcudbright and (b) Gatehouse-of-Fleet in the last year. [130457]

The hon. Member will be aware that Kirkcudbright and Gatehouse-of-Fleet lie within Low Flying Area (LFA) 16 and Tactical Training Area (TTA) 20T. In the last training year LFA 16 had a total of 3,535 hours of low flying activity booked of which 188 hours and 18 minutes were Operational Low Flying (OLF) activity which is carried out within the TTA boundary. These are the only figures available.