Asked by: Lord Campbell of Pittenweem (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask Her Majesty's Government when they plan to proceed with the acquisition of more F-35 Lightning aircraft; and how many such aircraft will be purchased.
Answered by Baroness Goldie - Shadow Minister (Defence)
The UK's F-35B aircraft are procured using a 'Block Buy' approach through the US-led Joint Programme Office. The UK has ordered 35 aircraft to date, and procurement of the next 13 has already commenced, these will be delivered through the 'Block Buy 2' Programme (also referred to as Lot 15-17). This will take the UK to 48 F-35B aircraft.
Further decisions on procurement beyond the 48 aircraft will follow the ongoing Integrated Review.
Asked by: Lord Campbell of Pittenweem (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what progress has been made in the transfer of the lead in Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Nuclear Defence from the Royal Air Force to the Army.
Answered by Baroness Goldie - Shadow Minister (Defence)
The transfer of Defence's Counter CBRN capability from the Royal Air Force to the British Army is a three-year programme which started on 1 April 2019 and is expected to be completed by April 2022.
The Army now has command of this specialist capability, including the Defence CBRN Centre at Winterbourne Gunner and management of future programmes. Ahead of schedule, all specialist equipment has been handed over to the Army who are also responsible for its in-service maintenance. 28 Engineer Regiment (C-CBRN) has been formed and continues to develop and increase its specialist skills, supported by 27 Squadron, RAF Regiment who continue to have elements at readiness.
Asked by: Lord Campbell of Pittenweem (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask Her Majesty's Government how many members of the UK Armed Forces are currently deployed on NATO operations, broken down by service.
Answered by Baroness Goldie - Shadow Minister (Defence)
In total there are 2,005 members of the UK Armed Forces deployed on NATO operations. The Navy has 14 deployed, the Army has 1,727 deployed and the RAF has 264 deployed.
This table provides greater detail should it be required.
Country | Army | RAF | Navy | Total |
LITHUANIA | 2 | 164 | 1 | 167 |
ESTONIA | 838 | 1 | 1 | 840 |
POLAND | 136 | 1 | 0 | 137 |
KOSOVO | 20 | 0 | 0 | 20 |
IRAQ | 4 | 1 | 1 | 6 |
AFGHANISTAN | 727 | 97 | 11 | 835 |
Total | 1727 | 264 | 14 | 2005 |
Asked by: Lord Campbell of Pittenweem (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they intend to continue meeting their NATO commitment to spending two per cent of GDP on defence in real terms.
Answered by Baroness Goldie - Shadow Minister (Defence)
Her Majesty's Government is committed to spending at least 2% of GDP on Defence each year of this Parliament, as per the Defence Investment Pledge. The UK is one of only a handful of nations that meets, and in our case exceeds the 2% target, and remains the largest European Defence spender in NATO.
Asked by: Lord Campbell of Pittenweem (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask Her Majesty's Government how many Armed Forces personnel have been deployed to support activities related to the COVID-19 pandemic, broken down by service.
Answered by Baroness Goldie - Shadow Minister (Defence)
As of 11 May 2020, the breakdown by single Service of personnel currently deployed to support the Government’s response to COVID-19 is as follows:
Navy | 180 |
Army | 3,505 |
Air | 154 |