Asked by: Lord Trefgarne (Conservative - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether deterrence remains a core element of the United Kingdom’s defence policy.
Answered by Lord Coaker - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
Deterrence remains at the core of the UK’s defence policy and influences everything we do; from capability procurement choices to operational activity. The Strategic Defence Review (2025) affirms the centrality of deterrence to Defence thinking. It underpins our focus on home defence and resilience, our move towards warfighting readiness, and our NATO First approach.
Asked by: Lord Trefgarne (Conservative - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many Type 26 Frigates are currently on order for (1) the Royal Navy, and (2) other customers.
Answered by Lord Coaker - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
There are eight Type 26 frigates on order for the UK. The recent announcement that Norway has selected the UK as their preferred strategic partner for Frigate procurement signals Norway’s intention to order five Type 26 ships.
Asked by: Lord Trefgarne (Conservative - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many retired Tornado aircraft remain in the possession of the RAF.
Answered by Baroness Goldie - Shadow Minister (Defence)
The Tornado aircraft went out of RAF service in 2019 and has been through a thorough disposal process. The RAF have retained 16 Tornado aircraft across different variants for use as ground based training aids and gate guardians but none are airworthy and the majority of their systems have been permanently removed or inhibited to ensure long-term safety for ground instruction training or public display.
Asked by: Lord Trefgarne (Conservative - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have for the future of HMS Bristol.
Answered by Baroness Goldie - Shadow Minister (Defence)
I refer my noble Friend to the answer I gave on 15 November 2022 to Question HL3303 to the noble Lord, Lord West of Spithead.
Asked by: Lord Trefgarne (Conservative - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask Her Majesty's Government how many (1) destroyers, and (2) frigates, are presently available for service with the Royal Navy.
Answered by Baroness Goldie - Shadow Minister (Defence)
Six Destroyers and twelve Frigates are in-service with the Royal Navy. They rotate through operational deployments, exercises and periods of planned maintenance.
At present, of the six Destroyers, four are available for operations with the remainder in long term refit. Of the twelve Frigates, eight are available for operations with the remainder in long term refit.