Extract from Westminster Hall debate on Combat Air Strategy - Jun 27
Friday, 28 June 2019 08:35
Robert Courts (Witney) (Con)...It is good to see so many Members
here as we consider the combat air strategy, particularly given
that so many were also present in November 2017 when the hon.
Member for Stoke-on-Trent North (Ruth Smeeth) and I sponsored the
original debate calling for a combat air strategy—in fact, it was
for a defence aerospace-industrial strategy; I will refer to that
terminology, which is not just semantics, in a moment or two.
Progress has certainly been made: the combat...Request free trial
(Witney) (Con)...It is good to
see so many Members here as we consider the combat air strategy,
particularly given that so many were also present in November 2017
when the hon. Member for Stoke-on-Trent North (Ruth Smeeth) and I
sponsored the original debate calling for a combat air strategy—in
fact, it was for a defence aerospace-industrial strategy; I will
refer to that terminology, which is not just semantics, in a moment
or two. Progress has certainly been made: the combat air strategy
was published in July 2018, while Team Tempest—including the Royal
Air Force, the Ministry of Defence, BAE Systems, Rolls-Royce, Leonardo UK and MBDA UK—and the
mock-up of the Tempest aircraft were unveiled at the Royal
International Air Tattoo last year...
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Defence
(Stuart Andrew):...As all hon. Members know, £2 billion of future
investment has been approved. Importantly, since the announcement
1,000 people have taken up new jobs to look at that area, and that
figure will be 1,800 by the end of the year. Among the industry
partners that we are directly in contact with, that includes 400
jobs at BAE Systems and 260 jobs at Leonardo all over the country.
As well as securing those jobs, we are trying to demonstrate the
significant technological advances that have been made,
including Rolls-Royce’s demonstration of an advanced
embedded electrical starter-generator in a military engine, which
allows the engine to be started through electrical power rather
than high-pressure air. That could allow the removal of several
mechanical components in next-generation engines and could equally
apply to civil aero engines, as hon. Members said...
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