Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to page 106 of the Strategic Defence Review 2025, updated on 8 July 2025, what progress he has made in establishing hybrid carrier airwings.

Hybrid Air Wings, underpinned by the Royal Navy’s approach to Maritime Aviation Transformation, represents the evolution of the Fleet Air Arm to a crewed-uncrewed mix of drones, fast jets, helicopters and one-way effectors that will deliver enhanced lethality and combat mass for North Atlantic Sea Control, Homeland Defence and Carrier and Littoral Strike.

During the ongoing deployment of the UK Carrier Strike Group (Operation HIGHMAST), Malloy T150 and Puma uncrewed air systems are operating alongside crewed helicopters and F-35B strike fighters, providing logistics and surveillance capabilities which release capacity of crewed aircraft to undertake more complex operational tasks.

The investment decisions to support Strategic Defence Review recommendations are being developed by the Ministry of Defence and will be published in the Defence Investment Plan.