Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what recent estimate he has made of the total cost of the Challenger 3 programme which include budget increases due to (a) technical challenges or (b) inflation; and how this aligns with the original £800 million contract awarded to Rheinmetall BAE Systems Land in 2021.

There have not been any increases to the total budget for the Armour Main Battle Tank programme due to technical challenges or inflation. The Approved Budgetary Level for the programme remains £1.9 billion and includes the Rheinmetall BAE Systems Land contract.