Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what funding his Department has allocated to the research and development of (a) drone detection and (b) counter-drone technologies in the last three years.

It is not possible to differentiate, in funding terms, between Research and Development (R&D) supporting drone detection and counter-drone technologies – our counter-drone systems R&D takes a full systems approach to support the delivery of military capability. However, through Defence’s centrally funded science and technology budget, Defence has invested a minimum of £35 million in counter-drone systems science and technology research over the past three years.