Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, if his Department will make an assessment of the potential merits of increasing the number of infantry fighting vehicles in the Army, in the context of the number of those vehicles in the US, Russian and Chinese armies.

Under Future Soldier, the Army will deliver a modernised division capable of conducting high-end warfighting formed around the Armoured Brigade Combat Team. This will be built on a digitally networked combination of Ajax, Boxer, Challenger 3, AH64E, long range precision fires and un-crewed aerial systems.

However, as SofS has stated, as the threat changes, we need to change with it. As we deliver our modernised and transformed Army we will continually review and revise how it trains and configures force elements to meet mandated and contingent tasks. In this transition, the Army will continue to hold and maintain the appropriate number of armoured vehicles to meet the operational requirements.