Asked by: Lord Blencathra (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the difficulties posed by soldiers in the same platoon using different calibre weapons and ammunition.
Answered by Lord Coaker - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
All procurement projects look at interoperability as part of the scoping requirements. The British Army currently operates different calibre weapons within the platoon; this provides a tactical advantage in ensuring the correct weapon is available to meet requirements, whilst also balancing other factors such as logistic and human considerations.
Asked by: Lord Blencathra (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask His Majesty's Government what consideration they have given in Project Troubler and Project Grayburn to the decision by the US Army to standardise their rifles and light machine guns on a common 6.8-millimetre calibre.
Answered by Lord Coaker - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
A review of performance requirements and technical solutions is ongoing as part of the concept phase for Project GRAYBURN and Project TROUBLER. Interoperability, (including calibre) with other in service weapons, NATO and other international partners will be considered as part of this process.
Asked by: Lord Blencathra (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to ensure that the calibre of the rifle selected under Project Grayburn is the same as the calibre for the light machine gun selected under Project Troubler.
Answered by Lord Coaker - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
A review of performance requirements and technical solutions is ongoing as part of the concept phases for Project GRAYBURN and Project TROUBLER. Interoperability, (including calibre) with other in service weapons will be considered as part of this process. Commonality across users in the British Army is important but must be informed by the individual user requirements of each project, which includes consideration of NATO and wider international interoperability.
Asked by: Lord Blencathra (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask His Majesty's Government, following the service of the Hunt Class Destroyer, HMS Blencathra, 1940–1957, whether they have any plans to name a future ship HMS Blencathra.
Answered by Lord Coaker - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
Ships names are proposed by the Royal Navy's Ships Names and Badges Committee, for selection by Royal Navy seniors, Ministers and His Majesty The King.
Names are proposed based on many factors, including the history of the Fleet and suitability to the role of the ship being named.
No ship currently in build will bear the name HMS Blencathra, however this does not preclude the name being chosen in future should it be suitable.
Asked by: Lord Blencathra (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask His Majesty's Government why the United States is able to prevent the United Kingdom supplying Ukraine with Storm Shadow missiles, and whether it is able to prevent the supply of other weapons to Ukraine which do not contain parts manufactured in the United States.
Answered by Lord Coaker - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
The UK respects its obligations to international partners to seek their agreement prior to the re-export of sensitive technologies, including those controlled under the International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR). The US and UK have worked closely to ensure that Storm Shadow can be provided to Ukraine.
Asked by: Lord Blencathra (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they have carried out any analysis of the number of troops from Cuba who may be fighting for Russia against Ukraine.
Answered by Earl of Minto - Shadow Minister (Defence)
The Ministry of Defence are aware of the open-source reports on networks operating in Cuba and Russia alleged to have facilitated young Cubans to join Russia’s war in Ukraine. We are concerned that these individuals have been deceived and recruited to fight for Russia.
Asked by: Lord Blencathra (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they intend significantly to increase production of 155mm howitzer shells to assist Ukraine; and if so, what steps they are taking to do so.
Answered by Baroness Goldie - Shadow Minister (Defence)
The Department is considering options to increase 155mm ammunition production, in response to emerging lessons from the conflict in Ukraine as well as the prior granting-in-kind of a proportion of the UK stockpile to Ukraine. No decision has been taken on whether to allocate any of this production increase to Ukraine.
Asked by: Lord Blencathra (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask His Majesty's Government what discussions they have had with the government of the United States regarding the reported leak of intelligence material by a 21 year old reservist.
Answered by Baroness Goldie - Shadow Minister (Defence)
The Defence Secretary regularly speaks to the US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin. They spoke about this issue on 12 April and met again during the Defence Secretary's pre-planned visit to Washington on 17 April. The UK commends the swift action taken by US law enforcement to investigate and respond to the unauthorised disclosure of classified documents, including the arrest and charging of a suspect. The US remains the UK's most important ally and partner and the depth of the UK's relationship with the US remains an absolutely essential pillar of our security.
Asked by: Lord Blencathra (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to limit the sharing of British intelligence information with the United States following the reported leak of intelligence material by a 21 year old reservist.
Answered by Baroness Goldie - Shadow Minister (Defence)
The UK commends the swift action taken by the US law enforcement to investigate and respond to the unauthorised disclosure of classified documents, including the arrest and charging of a suspect. The US remains the UK's most important ally and partner and the depth of the UK's relationship with the US remains an absolutely essential pillar of our security.
Asked by: Lord Blencathra (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask His Majesty's Government what consideration they have given to giving Ukraine Apache helicopters.
Answered by Baroness Goldie - Shadow Minister (Defence)
The Government has no current plans to gift Apache helicopters to Ukraine.