Asked by: Luke Akehurst (Labour - North Durham)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether the (a) design, (b) manufacture and (c) support for Type 83 destroyers will be carried out by UK companies.
Answered by Maria Eagle
This Government is committed to delivering a thriving shipbuilding sector across the UK, supporting the whole supply chain, from design to repair, systems and integration. The Type 83 Destroyer is one element of the Future Air Dominance System (FADS) programme, which has commenced its concept phase. FADS will replace the UK’s present Maritime Air Defence Capability vested in the Type 45 Destroyer Programme.
It is not yet possible to confirm where these ships will be built as it is subject to due commercial process, but the build of the Type 83 will secure work until at least the mid-2040s, depending on the number of platforms built. Analysis of supply chain involvement and social value will be conducted during this phase. Social value and sovereign considerations will inform any subsequent investment.
Asked by: David Reed (Conservative - Exmouth and Exeter East)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answer of 16 January 2025 to Question 23535 on Hawk Aircraft, what plans his Department has for the replacement of the Hawk T1 by 2030; and whether it is his policy to maintain a sovereign jet training capability in this process.
Answered by Maria Eagle
I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 5 December 2024 for Question 16460 to the right hon. Member for Rayleigh and Wickford (Mark Francois).
Asked by: Ian Roome (Liberal Democrat - North Devon)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what steps his department is taking to maintain UK shipbuilding (a) capacity and (b) skills, in the context of Harland & Wolff entering administration.
Answered by Maria Eagle
The Government remains fully committed to delivering a thriving UK shipbuilding sector and recognises the vital role shipbuilding and its skilled workforce plays in the economic prosperity and growth of the UK.
Navantia's purchase of Harland and Wolff is a significant investment into the UK's industrial base and demonstrates Navantia UK's continuing commitment to the UK. The Government is confident that this market-led solution is positive for Harland and Wolff and the shipbuilding industry more broadly, and provides the best opportunity to sustain essential sovereign shipbuilding capacity and capability for future Naval work.
This Government is committed to working with the whole shipbuilding industry, Navantia UK included, in supporting jobs and sustaining and growing our shipbuilding sector across the UK.
Asked by: James Cartlidge (Conservative - South Suffolk)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, if he will make an assessment of the potential impact of retiring the Puma helicopters early on (a) Episkopi and (b) Dhekelia Garrison.
Answered by Luke Pollard - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
The Puma helicopters in the Sovereign Base Areas (SBAs) on the island of Cyprus have historically supported emergency response across the SBAs, as well as providing troop movement and defence engagement tasks to British Forces Cyprus, including Episkopi and Dhekelia garrisons.
The MOD takes a rigorous approach in assessing the risk of any capability transitions. The Department is exploring options to fulfil some short-term capability transitions in the SBAs before the H-145 platform enters services from 2026. Defence’s Strategic Objectives will continue to be fulfilled.
Asked by: James Cartlidge (Conservative - South Suffolk)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, when he plans to respond to Question 17170 on Puma Helicopters tabled by the hon. Member for South Suffolk on 2 December 2024.
Answered by Luke Pollard - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
The Puma aircraft based in the Sovereign Base Areas (SBAs) on the island of Cyprus have historically supported emergency response across the SBAs, as well as providing firefighting, troop movement, training and defence engagement tasks. Defence is exploring options to fulfil some short-term capability gaps, before the H-145 platform enters service from 2026. Defence's Strategic Objectives will continue to be fulfilled.
Asked by: James Cartlidge (Conservative - South Suffolk)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the potential operational implications are of retiring the Puma helicopters early for (a) the RAF, (b) RAF Akrotiri and (c) British Forces Cyprus.
Answered by Luke Pollard - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
The Puma aircraft based in the Sovereign Base Areas (SBAs) on the island of Cyprus have historically supported emergency response across the SBAs, as well as providing firefighting, troop movement, training and defence engagement tasks. Defence is exploring options to fulfil some short-term capability gaps, before the H-145 platform enters service from 2026. Defence's Strategic Objectives will continue to be fulfilled.
Asked by: James Cartlidge (Conservative - South Suffolk)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what progress he has made on providing a clear demand signal to the UK’s sovereign complex weapons industrial base.
Answered by Maria Eagle
The UK Ministry of Defence (MOD) has prioritised long term strategic relationships with our UK sovereign complex weapons industrial base. The MOD has recently signed the PMA2 with MBDA, through which weapon systems design, development, production, and support will be conducted. It presents a significant opportunity to counter current and future threats, providing military capability choice to the UK and Europe. Renewing this partnership for a further 10 years means we can deliver battle-winning equipment to our Armed Forces, while securing thousands of UK jobs and delivering significant savings to the taxpayer. It is an excellent example of the value and importance of long-term strategic collaboration with our industry partners.
The MOD is exploring further opportunities for strategic supplier partnerships across the UK Complex Weapons industrial base.
The MOD are awaiting the outcome to the Str prior to committing to future demands at this point.
Asked by: James Cartlidge (Conservative - South Suffolk)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether he plans to increase funding for R&D on Directed Energy Weapons.
Answered by Maria Eagle
The Ministry of Defence (MOD) has committed to accelerating and the continued investment in UK Sovereign Directed Energy Weapon (DEW) technology, to provide cutting edge capability to the Armed Forces at pace. The programme is delivering capability demonstrators, accelerated Minimum Deployable Capabilities including DragonFire delivering Laser DEW into operational capability from 2027, and preparing to deliver DEW capability into core service in the 2030's.
Since 2020, Defence has invested in the Directed Energy Weapons Programme with the DragonFire Laser DEW accelerated programme, seeing £350 million in Government investment by April 2027 to deliver minimum deployable capability. The MOD is committed to the continued investment in UK Sovereign DEW technology, to provide cutting edge capability to the Armed Forces at pace.
Asked by: James Cartlidge (Conservative - South Suffolk)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of (a) radio frequency directed energy weapons, (b) DragonFire lasers and (c) other directed energy weapons for the protection of (i) UK and (ii) United States Visiting Forces military bases on the UK mainland.
Answered by Maria Eagle
The Ministry of Defence (MOD) has committed to accelerating the continued investment in UK Sovereign Directed Energy Weapon (DEW) technology to provide cutting edge capability to the Armed Forces swiftly. DEW technology mitigates against the increasing threat from direct attack or weapon drop drones by defeating them or discouraging attempts by significantly reducing their probability of success. The UK has trialled these systems, has access to data on other non-UK systems, and throughout their development we will ensure they're designed to counter the threats faced by our Armed Forces. This will allow our Armed Forces to operate more effectively against a changing and asymmetric threat landscape, demonstrating the MOD's approach to transitioning technology into capability meeting real world threats.
Due to operational security, the MOD does not comment on the specific protection of military bases.
Asked by: James Cartlidge (Conservative - South Suffolk)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what recent progress his Department has made on extending the range of radio frequency directed energy weapons.
Answered by Maria Eagle
The Ministry of Defence (MOD) has committed to developing and continuing to invest in UK Sovereign Directed Energy Weapon (DEW) technology, to provide cutting edge capability to the Armed Forces at pace. Radio Frequency Directed Energy Weapon sare a new game-changing weapon that is under development for the UK's Armed Forces that uses radio waves to disable enemy electronics and take down multiple drones at once.
The advanced technology is being developed by a joint team from the Defence Science and Technology Laboratory (Dstl) and Defence Equipment & Support (DE&S), working with UK industry. The MOD has committed to developing Radio Frequency DEW into operational capability to meet real world threats. Thus far, the system has been tested against a range of targets, proving to be highly effective. The system will be able to effect targets up to 1km away, with further development taking place to extending the range.