Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answer of 18 March to Question 118816 on HMS Dragon: Lasers, how many further phases will follow the demonstration and evaluation phase for the DragonFire.

The DragonFire programme is being delivered through a new approach to procurement aimed at accelerating delivery timescales and providing the Royal Navy with novel capability sooner. This approach focuses on delivering a minimum deployable capability that can be further developed and enhanced over time.

Based on a successful demonstrator trial, DragonFire was selected for acceleration into service, leading to further trials to inform the design and development of a minimum deployable capability. We are on track to install this capability on a Royal Navy Type 45 destroyer in 2027. Beyond this, spiral development will allow for progressive improvement of the capability.