To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what assessment he has made of the potential for the use of small light assault helicopters in (a) Afghanistan and (b) other combat zones. (119165)

We continually review our helicopter requirements to ensure that we have sufficient helicopter support to meet current and anticipated tasks. While we do not use the term “small light assault helicopters”, our helicopters in Afghanistan and other combat zones include those suited to heavy-lift tasks, such as Chinook and Merlin; utility helicopters, such as Lynx, Puma and Sea King; and attack helicopters, such as Apache. No capability gap has been identified for small light assault helicopters.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what plans he has (a) to purchase and (b) to lease helicopters from the US military for operations in (i) Afghanistan and (ii) Iraq. (120601)

Currently, there are no plans to purchase or lease helicopters from the US armed forces for operations in Afghanistan or Iraq. The US continue to deploy significant numbers of military helicopters in Iraq and Afghanistan in support of coalition and NATO operations respectively.