Lord West of Spithead – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord West of Spithead on 2016-01-12.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answers by Earl Howe on 16 December 2015 (HL4512 and HL4513), how long RAF Joint Force Harrier squadrons had to stay on board anti-submarine warfare carriers to ensure all pilots were flight qualified.

Earl Howe

Depending on weather and aircraft serviceability, it usually took Joint Force Harrier Squadron pilots, on average, three to four weeks to qualify for combat operations from an Invincible Class carrier.