Asked by: Lord Chidgey (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what analysis has been conducted to investigate the potential interoperability between NATO Maritime Patrol Aircraft, available in 2019, and the Queen Elizabeth Class Aircraft Carrier and its F-35B Lightning II aircraft.
Answered by Lord Astor of Hever
A Key User Requirement for the Queen Elizabeth Class platforms is to be able to integrate with all elements of Joint/Combined Forces. The F35B's communication systems will facilitate cooperation with a number of different aircraft types, including NATO Maritime Patrol Aircraft, such as the P3C, P8 and Atlantique II.
Asked by: Lord Chidgey (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what analysis has been conducted to establish the potential systems and cost benefits of including a long-range maritime surveillance and anti-submarine warfare aircraft in the United Kingdom strategic deterrent system or systems.
Answered by Lord Astor of Hever
We have performed a number of assessments of the potential impact that a maritime patrol aircraft might have on the security of the strategic deterrent system. The potential contribution of such aircraft to the maintenance of continuous at-sea deterrence is well understood.
I am withholding further information as its disclosure would or would likely prejudice national security.
Asked by: Lord Chidgey (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what evidence-based analysis they have conducted to establish the vulnerability of the Queen Elizabeth-class aircraft carriers to modern anti-ship missile threats.
Answered by Lord Astor of Hever
Comprehensive threat and survivability analysis was conducted by Defence Science and Technology Laboratories during the design phase of the Queen Elizabeth Class (QEC) aircraft carriers. The output of this analysis is periodically reviewed and updated with input from Defence Intelligence Services and the Maritime Warfare Centre, and used to inform continued development of the operating procedures and war-fighting doctrine for the QEC.
I am withholding further details of this analysis and its conclusions as disclosure would, or would be likely to, prejudice the capability, effectiveness or security of the Armed Forces.
Asked by: Lord Chidgey (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what evidence-based analysis they have conducted to establish the vulnerability of the Queen Elizabeth-class aircraft carriers to modern submarine threats.
Answered by Lord Astor of Hever
Comprehensive threat and survivability analysis was conducted by Defence Science and Technology Laboratories during the design phase of the Queen Elizabeth Class (QEC) aircraft carriers. The output of this analysis is periodically reviewed and updated with input from Defence Intelligence Services and the Maritime Warfare Centre, and used to inform continued development of the operating procedures and war-fighting doctrine for the QEC.
I am withholding further details of this analysis and its conclusions as disclosure would, or would be likely to, prejudice the capability, effectiveness or security of the Armed Forces.
Asked by: Lord Chidgey (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government how long they estimate it will take to procure an armed long-range anti-submarine warfare and maritime surveillance capability, based on a manned aircraft, after the 2015 Strategic Defence and Security Review has been completed.
Answered by Lord Astor of Hever
The time it would take to acquire such an aircraft would depend on the platform selected, the availability of funding, and commercial arrangements. It is therefore not possible to provide a specific timeline.
Asked by: Lord Chidgey (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether the Air ISTAR Optimisation Study included any analysis of the comparative whole-life costs across all Defence Lines of Development of deploying the different solutions to any maritime surveillance and long-range anti-submarine warfare capability gap.
Answered by Lord Astor of Hever
The information requested is not available, as typically such questions are addressed at a later stage in a procurement cycle. A decision on whether to acquire a new capability will not be made until the next Strategic Defence and Security Review.
Asked by: Lord Chidgey (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what platforms they consider could fill any anti-submarine warfare manned aircraft gap at an acceptable level of technical risk within the timeframe available after the 2015 Strategic Defence and Security Review; and what assessment they have made of how long it would take to integrate United Kingdom complex weapons into such platforms.
Answered by Lord Astor of Hever
The information requested is not available, as typically such questions are addressed at a later stage in a procurement cycle. A decision on whether to acquire a new capability will not be made until the next Strategic Defence and Security Review.
Asked by: Lord Chidgey (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether the Air ISTAR Optimisation Study included any evidence-based analysis of any capability gap left by the scrapping of the Nimrod replacement programme.
Answered by Lord Astor of Hever
Yes. The evidence gathered by the study will permit informed decisions to be made during the next Strategic Defence and Security Review.
Asked by: Lord Chidgey (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government which platforms they expect will be able to fill any capability gaps at an acceptable level of technical risk following the 2015 Strategic Defence and Security Review; and how long they expect it will take to integrate United Kingdom complex weapons into the solutions.
Answered by Lord Astor of Hever
The information requested is not available.
Asked by: Lord Chidgey (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government how long it will take to procure an armed long-range anti-submarine warfare system and maritime surveillance capability, based on an unmanned aircraft, following the completion of the 2015 Strategic Defence and Security Review.
Answered by Lord Astor of Hever
Analysis conducted to date suggests that unmanned systems will not be able to provide an armed, long-range, anti-submarine warfare capability in the near to medium term.