Asked by: Andrew Rosindell (Conservative - Romford)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what recent assessment he has made of the land-attack missile capabilities of the Royal Navy; and what steps he has taken to strengthen those capabilities.
Answered by James Cartlidge - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
Capability assessment is routine activity for Defence, ensuring that the UK Armed Forces keeps pace with the emerging threat and adopts the latest technology.
The Royal Navy (RN) is capable of delivering land attack from all domains: Tomahawk Land Attack Missiles launched from Astute Class Submarines; Paveway IV precision guided bombs from F-35B; and most recently, the Naval Strike Missile, which is in the process of being fitted to surface ships.
Several future options, which include a land attack capability, are also under consideration as part of the Future Cruise and Anti-Ship Weapon programme which will equip future RN ships. We continually keep all such capabilities under review, including as part of our wider munitions strategy.
Asked by: Andrew Rosindell (Conservative - Romford)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what steps he has taken to ensure that the Dragonfire laser directed-energy weapon achieves operational capability.
Answered by James Cartlidge - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
The Ministry of Defence (MOD) has committed to accelerating DragonFire Laser Directed Energy Weapons (DEW) into operational capability to meet real world threats. Thus far, the DragonFire system has been tested against a range of targets, proving to be highly effective. This has been further evidenced through Dstl's Operational Analysis, confirming the technology's benefits against the threats faced by the Royal Navy in the Red Sea. The MOD has also invested in understanding the risks of integrating systems onto Royal Navy vessels and therefore has experience in the matter. To deliver at greater pace, we will be using the principles of Minimum Deployable Capability and spiral development, as set out in our new Integrated Procurement Model.
Asked by: Andrew Rosindell (Conservative - Romford)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, if he will make it his Department’s policy to extend the service of the Type 45 Destroyer beyond 2038.
Answered by James Cartlidge - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
The Type 45 Destroyer Class is currently due to be Out of Service in 2038 and no decision has been taken on an extension beyond this date.
Asked by: Andrew Rosindell (Conservative - Romford)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether he has met with his (a) Canadian and (b) New Zealand counterparts in 2024.
Answered by Andrew Murrison - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)
I can confirm that the Secretary of State for Defence has met his Canadian counterpart on two occasions in 2024, and has spoken with his New Zealand counterpart once and will meet with her in due course.
Asked by: Andrew Rosindell (Conservative - Romford)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how much his Department spent on the training of Somalian armed forces in each of the last five years.
Answered by James Heappey
In each of the last five financial years (FY) the costs of Ministry of Defence support to the Somali Armed Forces amount to:
FY 2023-24 - £9,748,133 (actuals until end of February 2024)
FY 2022-23 - £14,315,675
FY 2021-22 - £11,268,135
FY 2020-21 - £11,051,788
FY 2019-20 - £11,982,973
Asked by: Andrew Rosindell (Conservative - Romford)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what steps his Department is taking to increase the size of the armed forces in the context of conventional military threats to NATO allies in eastern Europe.
Answered by James Heappey
The Ministry of Defence is committed to delivering the Armed Forces set out in Defence Command Paper 23. This includes the transformational restructuring and modernisation originally set out in Integrated Review 21. Headline numbers of regular personnel do not define operational effectiveness. A more efficient training pipeline, fewer formed-unit deployments, organisational refinement and investment in improved capabilities mean that more units are ready more of the time.
The UK has committed almost all our Armed Forces and military capabilities to NATO under the new NATO Force Model - our strongest ever force commitment to the Alliance.
Asked by: Andrew Rosindell (Conservative - Romford)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, if he will make it his policy to diversify the UK's nuclear deterrent capabilities.
Answered by James Cartlidge - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
The 2013 Trident Alternatives Review demonstrated that no other system is as capable, resilient or cost effective as our current deterrent capability based on a four nuclear-armed submarine solution. That has not changed; the Trident II D5 missile system, carried by our Vanguard Class submarines, remains the most reliable weapons system in the world having successfully completed more than 190 tests.
The Government has absolute confidence that the UK’s deterrent remains effective, dependable, and formidable. That is why we are continuing to invest in the next generation of Dreadnought Class ballistic missile submarines, in extending the life of the Trident missile and in replacing the warhead, to keep us safe for decades to come.
Asked by: Andrew Rosindell (Conservative - Romford)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what steps he has taken to improve the delivery rate of the Ajax armoured vehicle programme.
Answered by James Cartlidge - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
As a result of revised contractual terms with MOD, General Dynamics UK have introduced a number of measures designed to improve the delivery rate. These measures include:
- Extending the current shift patterns and building contingency throughout the production schedule;
- Optimising the build line to balance activity and recruitment of additional resource to anticipate potential pinch points in the schedule; and
- An increase in collaborative practices, such as the introduction of joint acceptance, to reduce overall timelines.
Asked by: Andrew Rosindell (Conservative - Romford)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether his Department (a) has made and (b) plans to make an assessment of the potential merits of (i) conscription and (ii) civilian training for the purposes of increasing the size of the reserve force.
Answered by Andrew Murrison - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)
I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 28 February 2024 to Question 14972 to the hon. Member for Bolton North East (Mark Logan).
Asked by: Andrew Rosindell (Conservative - Romford)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, if he will update his Department's Fusion Doctrine to reflect lessons learned from the integration of civil society and private business responses as part of defence efforts in Ukraine.
Answered by James Heappey
Fusion Doctrine is not published by the Ministry of Defence as it relates to the UK's whole government approach to orchestrating National Security capabilities. Military Joint doctrine is reviewed continually by the Development, Concepts and Doctrine Centre through a five yearly plan. Review of Military Joint doctrine is required to reflect best practice and agreed lessons from operations and training.