Wallace Denies UK Will Be ‘Dangerously Exposed’ When Transport Aircraft Cut

A British Royal Air Force C-130 Hercules military transport that was carrying evacuees from Sudan is pictured on the tarmac at Larnaca International Airport, in Cyprus, on April 26, 2023. Christina Assi/AFP via Getty Images

Defence Secretary Ben Wallace has pushed back against criticisms of his decision to cut the UK’s last remaining C-130J Hercules transport aircraft, which critics say would leave the country “dangerously exposed.”

Wallace announced the decision in March 2021. He told the House of Commons at the time, “As the transport fleet improves availability, we will retire the C-130J Hercules in 2023 after 24 years’ service—22 A400Ms alongside the C-17 will provide a more capable and flexible transport fleet.”

A Royal Air Force Airbus A400M Atlas military cargo aircraft, carrying evacuees from Afghanistan, departs from Al-Maktoum International Airport on August 19, 2021. Giuseppe Cacae/AFP via Getty Images

But a Sky News report cited internal documents as showing that the Atlas A400M—manufactured by Airbus—is “plagued by problems,” with two-thirds of the fleet listed as unavailable for flying missions in early May.

Sky added the A400M has yet to be cleared to perform all the “niche functions” of the C-130J in special forces missions, including dropping a boat out of the back of a plane for hostage rescue missions at sea.

Responding to MPs who raised concerns over the report, Wallace insisted the A400M is “performing” and “on track” when it comes to being prepared for use by the special forces.

‘Tired Arguments’

According to the Sky report, three C-130s and four A400Ms took part in the recent Sudan evacuation—codenamed “Operation Polarbear”—during which almost 2,500 people were moved to safety from the war-torn African country on 30 UK evacuation flights.

Citing internal documents, the report said that three of the four A400M planes that joined the operation developed faults, while none of the C-130 aircraft became “unserviceable.”

Speaking at defence questions in the House of Commons on Monday, Labour MP Emma Lewell-Buck cited the report and asked: “Hasn’t the secretary of state made a mistake in pressing ahead with ditching the Hercules fleet in their favour?”

Britain’s Secretary of State for Defence Ben Wallace attends the weekly Cabinet meeting at Downing Street, in London, on May 2, 2023. Dan Kitwood/Getty Images

Wallace replied: “I’ve heard these sort of tired arguments about what we really need to do is just keep the Herc and get rid of the A400.”

He said the A400M “outperforms” the Hercules in most areas, telling MPs: “It’s got a longer range, bigger capacity, can land in the same area, in fact can land in shorter distance. And in Kabul, the massive evacuation of Kabul, one A400 had a fault for six hours and managed to continue on its course.

“The A400 is performing and as far as the migration to special forces and other capabilities, that is on track, already having done jumps from it and other parts of the area.

“The simple reality is the A400 outperforms it (the Hercules), its availability was extremely successful. The Hercules only accounts for 10 percent of the fleet and the overall fleet for lift is now the biggest it has been for 50 years.”

‘Absolute Assurance’

Labour MP Dan Jarvis, a former soldier, later said Wallace had previously given him commitments there “wouldn’t be any loss of capability.”

He asked the government if it can “give an absolute assurance that our defensive procurement system will ensure there is no loss of operational capability.”

Defence minister James Cartlidge replied: “I’m more than happy to give him that assurance.

“I know there is a great affection for the Hercules but just to go back to what the secretary of state was talking about in terms of the recent performance in Sudan—it’s such an important operation.

“The largest number of evacuees carried out of Sudan by the Hercules was 143. The largest number in an A400 I can confirm was around 100 more than that.”

PA Media contributed to this report.