Jim Shannon – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jim Shannon on 2016-05-23.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many (a) helicopters, (b) Royal Navy ships and (c) Royal Air Force aircraft are stationed in the Falkland Islands.

Penny Mordaunt

Four contractor-owned and operated helicopters are currently stationed in the Falkland Islands. Two AW-189 helicopters deliver search and rescue services and two S-61 helicopters deliver a medium lift capability. One River Class patrol ship (HMS CLYDE), one C-130, one Voyager air-to-air refuelling aircraft, and four Typhoon aircraft are also currently stationed in the Falklands.

In accordance with the Secretary of State’s announcement to the House on 24 March 2015 (Official Report, column 1302), two Chinook helicopters are due to return to the Falkland Islands. The first of these will begin operations in July 2016.