Royal Navy

Dr. Julian Lewis
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what Royal Navy helicopter presence will remain in the Gulf after the return of HMS Ocean and HMS Ark Royal. [112262]

Mr. Ingram
Royal Navy helicopters will be assigned to those surface ships that are allocated to operations in the Gulf. Additionally, five RN Sea King MM aircraft will be remaining in Iraq for the next phase of Operation Telic.

Dr. Lewis
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what unmanned aerial vehicles he intends to acquire for Royal Navy use. [112266]

Mr. Ingram
We have no current plans to acquire unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) for Royal Navy use. However we are planning a Joint UAV Experimentation Programme to examine the potential role of UAVs including, potentially, Royal Navy use.

Dr. Julian Lewis
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what recent progress there has been on repairs to HMS Nottingham. [112273]

Mr. Ingram
Work on HMS Nottingham began in December 2002. Repairs to the structure of the hull are expected to be completed by the end of May and work to strip out and replace damaged equipment, electrical rewiring and painting is progressing well. HMS Nottingham is expected to return to operational service, as planned, in November 2004.