Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what his Department’s planned Research and Expenditure spend is for (a) this financial year and (b) each of the next four financial years.

The 2020 Spending Review (SR) Settlement sets out a ringfence for defence R&D amounting to at least £6.6 billion over four years from 2021-22. This funding will support next generation capabilities from satellites and automation to AI and novel weapons.

For this financial year, current plans indicate that we will spend in excess of the £960 million ringfence as reported at Main Estimates. Investment plans for the subsequent 4 years are still subject to change and will be considered in annual budgeting cycles. However, R&D investment is expected to meet the £6.6 million ringfence by financial year 2024-2025.