Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many multiple launch rocket systems his Department owns; how many he plans to upgrade; and what the projected (a) cost of and (b) timescale for such upgrades is.

The Ministry of Defence has an operational fleet of 26 multiple launch rocket systems (MLRS), comprising launcher and repair and recovery variants, and owns a further 50 MLRS, all of which will be upgraded.

To date, approval has been granted to upgrade 69 systems at an estimated capital cost of £481 million (using current exchange rate assumptions). Funding of £158 million has been allocated for the upgrade of a further 16 systems, which includes the purchase of surplus systems sourced from other nations. This will lead to a total operational fleet size of 85 systems.

The MLRS fleet is being upgraded in four tranches with the final deliveries estimated to be complete by 2030.