Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answer of 19 September 2024 to Question 2108 on Future Combat Air System, how much of the £1.3 billion was planned in a previous financial year to be spent this financial year.

The £1.3 billion figure provided on 19 September 2024 to Question 2106 accounts for the Government funding for Future Combat Air System/Global Combat Air Programme in the current financial year.

All of the £1.3 billion of spend this financial year was planned in the last financial year.

The £1.3 billion of spend this financial year is on the Future Combat Air System (FCAS) programme, the majority of which is for Global Combat Air Programme (GCAP) activity. At the start of this financial year, it was expected that the Ministry of Defence would spend up to ~£1.46 billion on FCAS/GCAP. The forecast was reduced to £1.3 billion due to revised estimates of programme activity from industry throughout the year.