Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what assessment he has made of the potential implications for his policies of the (a) Capacity on Call initiative between Finland, Norway, Denmark, the Netherlands and Belgium and (b) agreement with the USAFE regarding pooling and sharing of F-35A aircraft.

The UK welcomes initiatives by NATO Allies that strengthen interoperability, readiness and operational effectiveness across the Alliance.

We assess developments such as Capacity on Call and other allied arrangements for pooling and sharing aircraft for any lessons relevant to UK and NATO force generation, resilience and interoperability. Specific arrangements remain matters for the participating nations.

The UK continues to work closely with all NATO Allies and F-35 Partner Nations on the operation and sustainment of the F-35 enterprise and will consider all relevant lessons as we introduce the F-35A into UK Service.