Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what steps he is taking to ensure the UK does not risk falling behind in (a) defence and (b) military-related advancements in (i) drone technology and (ii) artificial intelligence.

The UK remains one of the top nations in NATO for Defence spending and, as announced in the Spring Budget, this will increase by £11 billion over the next five years. Last year we published the Defence Artificial Intelligence (AI) Strategy with the ambitious vision of being, in terms of AI, the world's most effective, efficient, trusted, and influential Defence organisation for our size. Capabilities are also being pursued in air, land and maritime 'uncrewed systems' to ensure the continued technological prowess of our whole Armed Forces.