Military Aircraft Dr. Fox To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many Royal Air Force aircraft of each type are (a) in service, (b) in the forward air fleet and (c) fit for purpose. [Official Report,3 June 2009, Vol. 493, c. 4MC.] Mr. Quentin Davies The numbers of aircraft of each type which are in service, in the forward fleet and fit for purpose are provided in the following table. The figures shown are the average for February 2009 and have been rounded to the nearest aircraft. “In service” has been taken to mean the effective fleet, which covers all aircraft barring those which are redundant, declared as surplus or awaiting disposal. The number of aircraft in the forward fleet comprises aircraft which are serviceable and those which are short term unserviceable. Short term unserviceable aircraft are undergoing minor works, forward maintenance or any other unforeseen rectification work that can arise on a day-to-day basis. Serviceable aircraft available to the front-line commands for operational and training purposes are termed fit for purpose. --------------------------------------------------------------- |Aircraft type |In service fleet|Forward fleet|Fit for purpose| --------------------------------------------------------------- |BAe 146 |2 |1 |1 | --------------------------------------------------------------- |BAe 125 |6 |4 |4 | --------------------------------------------------------------- |C-17 |6 |5 |4 | --------------------------------------------------------------- |Dominie |9 |7 |5 | --------------------------------------------------------------- |Harrier |74 |49 |44 | --------------------------------------------------------------- |Hawk Tl |132 |90 |59 | --------------------------------------------------------------- |Hercules CI30K|15 |11 |6 | --------------------------------------------------------------- |Hercules CI30J|24 |19 |12 | --------------------------------------------------------------- |Nimrod MR2 |14 |10 |4 | --------------------------------------------------------------- |Nimrod Rl |3 |1 |1 | --------------------------------------------------------------- |Sea King |25 |17 |10 | --------------------------------------------------------------- |Sentinel |5 |3 |2 | --------------------------------------------------------------- |Sentry |7 |5 |4 | --------------------------------------------------------------- |Tornado F3 |69 |33 |29 | --------------------------------------------------------------- |Tornado GR4 |138 |84 |66 | --------------------------------------------------------------- |Tristar |8 |6 |4 | --------------------------------------------------------------- |Tucano |55 |55 |40 | --------------------------------------------------------------- |Typhoon |53 |35 |20 | --------------------------------------------------------------- |VC10 |16 |13 |8 | --------------------------------------------------------------- |Vigilant |64 |63 |44 | --------------------------------------------------------------- |Viking |65 |65 |60 | ---------------------------------------------------------------