Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what plans he has to expand missile-related industrial collaboration between the UK and Japan.

Japan is an important ally for the UK, and there are growing levels of co-operation between the UK and Japan, which is entirely consistent with the Defence Equipment Co-operation Framework treaty signed by the two nations in 2013. Under the auspices of that treaty the UK and Japan continue to look at what areas of mutual interest and benefit there are, and those discussions may lead to new co-operative programmes. However, there are currently no missile related programmes in place beyond an on-going feasibility assessment of a joint new air-to-air missile programme, which is the potential development of a new variant of the Meteor beyond visual range missile incorporating some Japanese technology.