Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the current status is of the British Army's Dismounted Situational Awareness programme.

The Dismounted Situational Awareness (DSA) capability will be a 21st century communication, navigation and situational awareness system to replace paper maps, compasses, paper notebooks and simple voice radios.

Rowden Technologies (RT) were awarded the Design and Integration Partner contract in July 2021. RT has successfully delivered the System Design Review; however, the project is forecasting a delay. The Senior Responsible Owner requested a review of the project’s Capability Requirements and Acquisition Strategy, to reset the project with higher delivery confidence.

The requirements review has recently concluded and as a result, the Army has confirmed the requirement for DSA remains unchanged. I am withholding the budget, as this is commercially sensitive.