Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Astor of Hever on 25 October 2013 (HL2640), what programme of work the Royal Navy is undertaking to establish the best way to replace the maritime capability that was to be provided by the Nimrod MRA4; and whether that programme has included work at the maritime warfare training schools at HMS Collingwood.

Staff from Navy Command, including from the Maritime Warfare Centre at HMS Collingwood, and Air Command are actively involved in studies on future wide area maritime surveillance, which are being led by the Joint Forces Command. In particular, the Royal Navy is providing submarine, aviation, information superiority and warfare experts to inform the Air Information Superiority Target Acquisition and Reconnaissance (ISTAR) Optimisation Study (AIOS) and related work. The AIOS is considering a number of options for wide area surveillance, including the use of manned and unmanned aircraft and the use of space-based assets, primarily with a view to informing the forthcoming Strategic Defence and Security Review.