Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how much he intends to spend on developing a Hybrid Navy in each of the remaining financial years of this Parliament.

Defence will invest at least £1.5 billion over the next four years to begin delivering the Hybrid Navy, including the integration of autonomous underwater, surface and airborne systems to deliver mass and persistence. By 2030, we aim to have brought the first large autonomous vessels of into service, including a prototype uncrewed missile platform and extra-large uncrewed underwater vessels (XLUUVs), with payloads developed through AUKUS. The optimal breakdown of this £1.5 billion investment between different types of vessel will now be developed in consultation with industry.