Asked by: James Cartlidge (Conservative - South Suffolk)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether he plans to implement a new project to replace Project Lily.
Answered by Luke Pollard - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
Project Lily related to a proposed procurement to deliver an uncrewed surface vessel and associated remote operations centre capability. Project Lily was cancelled following a decision to consider alternative internal options to meet this requirement. The decision on whether to pursue a replacement competition or an alternative approach is under consideration in line with procurement rules. Should any future procurement be required, details of the opportunity will be published in the usual way via the Defence Sourcing Portal
Asked by: James Cartlidge (Conservative - South Suffolk)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answer of 2 February to Question 108700 on Strategic Defence Review, how much will be spent on Defence in the next Parliament.
Answered by Luke Pollard - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
The Government has set a clear ambition to spend 3% in the next Parliament as fiscal and economic conditions allow.
The Ministry of Defence's settlement over the next Parliament has not been decided and will be considered as part of future Spending Reviews.
Asked by: James Cartlidge (Conservative - South Suffolk)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what is the out of service date for Watchkeeper.
Answered by Luke Pollard - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 13 October 2025 to Question 77261 to the hon. Member for Huntingdon (Mr Obese-Jecty) which remains extant:
As announced by the Secretary of State in 2024, the Army’s Watchkeeper Mk 1 Uncrewed Aerial System is in the process of being retired from service with an Out of Service Date of March 2027.
https://questions-statements.parliament.uk/written-questions/detail/2025-09-15/77261
Asked by: James Cartlidge (Conservative - South Suffolk)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answer of 2 February to Question 108700 on Strategic Defence Review, how much of the £270 billion to be spent on Defence in this Parliament is defined as (a) the MOD budget and (b) NATO declared defence spending.
Answered by Luke Pollard - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
The £270 billion is the total of the Ministry of Defence's budget from financial year 2025/26 to 2028/29. This was published following the Spending Review last year.
Asked by: James Cartlidge (Conservative - South Suffolk)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what recent progress he has made on delivering Project Corvus.
Answered by Luke Pollard - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
Project CORVUS is scheduled to deliver Minimum Deployable Capability in late 2026, in advance of the Watchkeeper Out of Service Date of March 2027. The project is currently out to tender and aims to select a bidder by April 2026.
Project CORVUS is currently costed at £185 million, however it is subject to wider investment decisions in the Defence Investment Plan.
Asked by: James Cartlidge (Conservative - South Suffolk)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answer of 21 January to Question 105260 on Artillery: Procurement, when the full production contract will be placed.
Answered by Luke Pollard - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
On current plans, the Department intends to place the full production contract for the Mobile Fires Platform in the coming months. Negotiations with the supplier are ongoing, and the Department is making every effort to bring these to a positive conclusion at the earliest opportunity.
Asked by: James Cartlidge (Conservative - South Suffolk)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answer of 23 January to Question 99911, if he will name the two AI contracts that have been awarded by his Department since 5 July 2024.
Answered by Luke Pollard - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
I am withholding this information for the purpose of safeguarding national security.
Asked by: James Cartlidge (Conservative - South Suffolk)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answer of 26 January to Question 107089 on Typhoon Aircraft: Radar, whether the £205 million investment to deliver the European Common Radar System (ECRS) MK2 includes funding for the Phase 4 Enhancement capability package.
Answered by Luke Pollard - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
The recently announced £205 million, 5-year contract with QinetiQ provides a range of expert technical advice and services to help keep Typhoon safe, airworthy, and upgraded to the latest capability standard.
The contract will include technical advice and services to help Ministry of Defence deliver the ECRS Mk2 upgrade into service via the Phase 4 Enhancement programme. However, the main 4-Nation contract to deliver the Phase 4 Enhancement (and which includes a UK share of the funding) is expected to follow in 2027.
Asked by: James Cartlidge (Conservative - South Suffolk)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, if he will state the total cost of delivering Project Corvus.
Answered by Luke Pollard - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
Project CORVUS is scheduled to deliver Minimum Deployable Capability in late 2026, in advance of the Watchkeeper Out of Service Date of March 2027. The project is currently out to tender and aims to select a bidder by April 2026.
Project CORVUS is currently costed at £185 million, however it is subject to wider investment decisions in the Defence Investment Plan.
Asked by: James Cartlidge (Conservative - South Suffolk)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answer of 2 February to Question 108700 on Strategic Defence Review, if he will breakdown £270 billion to be spent on Defence in this Parliament in each remaining financial year of this Parliament defined as (a) the MOD budget and (b) NATO declared defence spending.
Answered by Luke Pollard - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
The £270 billion is the total of the Ministry of Defence's budget from financial year 2025/26 to 2028/29. This was published following the Spending Review last year.