Kevan Jones – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Kevan Jones on 2016-06-15.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether his Department made an assessment of the potential merits of procuring an alternative to the P-8 Poseidon maritime patrol aircraft before the decision on that procurement was made.

Mr Philip Dunne

As my hon. Friend the Minister of State for the Armed Forces said on 23 June 2015 in response to Question 3244 to the hon. Member for East Lothian (George Kerevan) the capabilities required from a Maritime Patrol Aircraft were studied by the Department for two and a half years before the UK’s requirement for the capability was confirmed in the Strategic Defence and Security Review 2015. During that time the Boeing P-8 Poseidon and a number of other potential platforms were assessed against their ability to meet the Department’s Key User Requirements, using a combination of scientific, technical and operational analysis, as well as industry’s ability to deliver the programme in a timely and cost-effective manner.