Emily Thornberry – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Emily Thornberry on 2016-02-08.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answer of 3 February 2016 to Question 24277, how many Sea King (a) Mk3, (b) Mk3a, (c) Mk4 and (d) Mk5 aircraft are planned to be taken out of service in 2016; and what plans the Government has to replace those assets.

Mr Philip Dunne

A total of 32 Sea King aircraft are planned to be taken out of service during 2016:

10 Mk3

2 Mk3a

9 Mk4

11 Mk5

The Search and Rescue role provided by these Sea King helicopters is to be delivered by contractor-provided services. Other roles delivered by these aircraft will transition to the Merlin fleet operated by the Royal Navy.