Asked by: Andrew Rosindell (Reform UK - Romford)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of deploying additional missile defence systems to allies in the Gulf, such as the UAE and Bahrain.
Answered by Al Carns - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for Veterans)
This remains an extremely challenging and unsettling time for many across the Middle East. The UK condemns Iran’s role in attempting to draw the region into a wider conflict. Our priority is to protect British nationals, British interests and our partners and allies in the Gulf. We support action that will help bring a swift resolution to this conflict, and an end to Iran's reckless and escalatory response
As part of our contribution, the UK has deployed additional military capabilities to the region. As confirmed by the Prime Minister in his statement on 5 March 2026, an additional four Typhoon aircraft are now deployed to Qatar to provide regional defensive counter air including UAE and Bahrain. RAF Typhoon and F-35 aircraft are continuing air operations over Jordan, Qatar, and Cyprus and the wider Gulf region in defence of British interests and allies.
We continue to assess other assistance requested from our regional partners.
Ministry of Defence are leveraging the expertise of British Defence Industry to enhance our regional partners’ defensive capabilities, particularly regarding C-UAS and Air Defence. Defence Attachés in the region have an updated list of UK companies who have capability to support have been engaging with our partners across the Gulf to understand their requests.
We are working at pace to match Middle East requirements with Industry offers. We are also facilitating Government to Industry (G2I) connections for Middle East countries and UK Industry to hasten support to our regional partners.
Asked by: Andrew Rosindell (Reform UK - Romford)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many Royal Navy destroyers and frigates were fully operational and deployable at immediate readiness in each of the last 12 months.
Answered by Luke Pollard - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
The Royal Navy maintains a high state of operational readiness across its core capabilities, including the Continuous At Sea Deterrent, Carrier Strike, frigates and destroyers, submarines, aviation, the Royal Marines and the Royal Fleet Auxiliary. The Fleet is deployed globally to protect the UK’s security and interests, working alongside allies and partners.
It is important to understand readiness as a constant cycle with ships moving regularly through maintenance, training, deployment and recovery phases. For reasons of operational security, the Ministry of Defence does not give detailed information on past or current levels of readiness for individual Royal Navy warships.
Asked by: Andrew Rosindell (Reform UK - Romford)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of the operational readiness of the Royal Navy.
Answered by Luke Pollard - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
The Royal Navy maintains a high state of operational readiness across its core capabilities, including the Continuous At Sea Deterrent, Carrier Strike, frigates and destroyers, submarines, aviation, the Royal Marines and the Royal Fleet Auxiliary. The Fleet is deployed globally to protect the UK’s security and interests, working alongside allies and partners.
It is important to understand readiness as a constant cycle with ships moving regularly through maintenance, training, deployment and recovery phases. For reasons of operational security, the Ministry of Defence does not give detailed information on past or current levels of readiness for individual Royal Navy warships.
Asked by: Andrew Rosindell (Reform UK - Romford)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what recent assessment he has made of the adequacy of the UK’s military capability to defend the Falkland Islands from potential aggression.
Answered by Al Carns - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for Veterans)
I refer the hon. gentleman to the response given to Question 118648 on 16 March 2026.
For operational and personnel security reasons we do not disclose the precise force levels deployed in the South Atlantic.
Asked by: Andrew Rosindell (Reform UK - Romford)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, for what reason the French Navy responded more quickly than the Royal Navy to the recent drone incident in Cyprus.
Answered by Al Carns - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for Veterans)
We cannot comment on the deployment decisions of other nations.
Asked by: Andrew Rosindell (Reform UK - Romford)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, when his Department last conducted a review of the UK’s defence posture in the South Atlantic; and whether he plans to commission a new assessment.
Answered by Al Carns - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for Veterans)
I refer the hon. gentleman to the response given to Question 118648 on 16 March 2026.
For operational and personnel security reasons we do not disclose the precise force levels deployed in the South Atlantic.
Asked by: Andrew Rosindell (Reform UK - Romford)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the force levels are at RAF Mount Pleasant; and whether he plans to review them.
Answered by Al Carns - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for Veterans)
I refer the hon. gentleman to the response given to Question 118648 on 16 March 2026.
For operational and personnel security reasons we do not disclose the precise force levels deployed in the South Atlantic.
Asked by: Andrew Rosindell (Reform UK - Romford)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what factors contributed to the time taken between the drone attack on Cyprus and the deployment of HMS Dragon from Portsmouth.
Answered by Al Carns - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for Veterans)
We do not comment on deployment decisions for reasons of operational security.
Asked by: Andrew Rosindell (Reform UK - Romford)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether he has had discussions with his counterpart in (a) France and (b) New Zealand on EEZ enforcement in the Pitcairn Islands.
Answered by Al Carns - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for Veterans)
The Ministry of Defence regularly discusses regional security, including the security of our Overseas Territories, such as the Pitcairn Islands, with key regional partners including New Zealand and France.
Asked by: Andrew Rosindell (Reform UK - Romford)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, if he will list enforcement and detention incidents involving Cuban vessels in each of the last five years.
Answered by Al Carns - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for Veterans)
Available Royal Navy operational records show no enforcement or detention incidents involving Cuban‑flagged vessels in the past five years.