Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what steps he is taking to ensure that the Tempest Future Combat Air System Aircraft is adequately (a) supported and (b) funded to be (i) completed and (ii) delivered on time.

The Integrated Review confirmed our intent to develop Future Combat Air System (FCAS) as a replacement for our Typhoon fast-jets and deliver the military capability we need to operate in highly contested environments, boost our industrial capacity and maximise our international influence.

The Defence Command Paper reaffirmed that we will invest more than £2 billuion in FCAS out to 2025. This is part of a budget of over £10 billion over the next ten years, although the ultimate amount we invest will depend on key programme choices and the role that our international partners take in the programme.

We are targeting an in-service date in the mid-2030s. This means significantly faster delivery than seen in previous programmes, enabled by a digital-first approach, embracing new technologies and early investment in R&D.

We are currently in the Concept and Assessment phase of the programme, which is due to complete by 2025. During this phase, key work is being undertaken to define and begin design of the capability we require, invest in the skills and infrastructure needed to deliver and support it, and agree our international partnering arrangements. Team Tempest partners now have circa 2,500 people working on FCAS, with many more in the supply chain, and this number is growing.