Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to paragraph 2.8 of the Spring Statement, 26 March 2025, what his Department's definition of novel technology is.

At the Chancellor’s Spring Statement the Ministry of Defence (MOD) committed to establishing UK Defence Innovation (UKDI). This new body will simplify and consolidate the current MOD structures for innovation.

The Spring Statement also confirmed that from next year the MOD will spend at least 10% of its equipment procurement budget on novel technology. Novel technology investments include dual-use technologies such as uncrewed and autonomous systems and AI-enabled capabilities. This list is not exhaustive, and work is ongoing to establish a formal definition of novel technology that UKDI and the wider Department will work against.

The creation of UKDI underlines this Government's commitment to exploiting new ideas and technologies to equip our Armed Forces with cutting edge tech and grow high tech businesses across the UK.