Ministry of Defence

The Ministry of Defence is committed to ensuring defence is an engine for growth. The Defence Industrial Strategy, published on 8 September 2025, clearly set out how we are making defence an engine for growth - investing more money in key defence areas and regions across the UK to create good jobs.

Defence Reform continues to make progress against its quarterly deliverables and across a variety of workstreams including the new ways of working between the four areas, design of the strategic cycles, modernised financial flows and agreed portfolio laydown. This will allow Defence Reform to finalise the unified Defence Operating model by the end of financial year 2025-26 for the next phase of implementation during financial year 2026-27. We will continue to keep Parliament updated on the progress of Defence Reform.

We are working flat out between now and the end of the year to finalise the Defence Investment Plan. I am sure the Hon. Gentleman will appreciate the scale of the decisions that we need to make, including with AJAX. He will also appreciate the scale of the problems that we face, including those to do with a programme of the last Government’s that over-committed, and was underfunded and unsuited to meeting the threats that we will face in the future.

A formal decision on the New Medium Helicopter (NMH) competition has not yet been made. The second stage of the NMH competition commenced on 27 February 2024 with the release of the Invitation to Negotiate to Airbus Helicopters UK, Leonardo Helicopters UK and Lockheed Martin UK.

Only Leonardo Helicopters UK elected to submit a tender which has been evaluated but since the competitive procurement process is still active, commercially sensitive information, including aircraft numbers, delivery timeline and value, cannot be confirmed.

Officials continue to consider the NMH business case as part of the Government’s approval process, with a decision to be made as part of the upcoming Defence Investment Plan.

A formal decision on the New Medium Helicopter (NMH) competition has not yet been made. The second stage of the NMH competition commenced on 27 February 2024 with the release of the Invitation to Negotiate to Airbus Helicopters UK, Leonardo Helicopters UK and Lockheed Martin UK.

Only Leonardo Helicopters UK elected to submit a tender which has been evaluated but since the competitive procurement process is still active, commercially sensitive information, including aircraft numbers, delivery timeline and value, cannot be confirmed.

Officials continue to consider the NMH business case as part of the Government’s approval process, with a decision to be made as part of the upcoming Defence Investment Plan.

Following the decommissioning of HMS Lancaster, the Royal Navy will have seven frigates in service, one frigate (HMS KENT) is currently undergoing planned deep maintenance. New Type 26 and Type 31 frigates are in build in Scotland currently.

The key officials in the Defence Equipment and Support (DE&S) Ajax Reporting Chain are as follows:

1* - Head Combat Vehicles, Simon Pearson

2* - Director Land Environment, Major General Lizzie Faithfull-Davies

3* - Director General Core, Lieutenant General Anna-Lee Reilly

3* - DE&S CEO, Lieutenant General Simon Hamilton

4* - National Armaments Director, Rupert Pearce

The 2* Senior Responsible Owner (SRO) is Chris Bowbrick, who sits within Army HQ, not DE&S.

I refer the noble Lord to the answer given by my right hon. Friend, the Minister for Defence Readiness and Industry, in the House of Commons on 11 December 2025 to the hon. Member for South Suffolk (James Cartlidge), in response to Question 96770 about the forward plans for the Type 45 Destroyer's Power Improvement Project.

https://questions-statements.parliament.uk/written-questions/detail/2025-12-03/96770

The Department has not awarded any contracts to STARK to date.

The Department has not awarded any contracts to STARK to date.

As partners we have maintained that we remain open to other partners joining. The UK and our GCAP partners, Italy and Japan, are focused on delivering this vital military capability at pace.

The Royal Navy will be deploying new undersea warfare technology as part of Atlantic Net, a new initiative that will see the Royal Navy rapidly field and iterate undersea warfare technology in collaboration with a commercial mission partner or partners. The competition for the first Atlantic Net commercial competition closed on 26 Nov 2025. I know the Hon. Gentleman will recall from his time as a Defence Minister that public disclosure on the companies that have submitted proposals, or a breakdown of firms and capabilities involved would prejudice fair competition.

The Royal Navy will be deploying new undersea warfare technology as part of Atlantic Net, a new initiative that will see the Royal Navy rapidly field and iterate undersea warfare technology in collaboration with a commercial mission partner or partners. The competition for the first Atlantic Net commercial competition closed on 26 Nov 2025. I know the Hon. Gentleman will recall from his time as a Defence Minister that public disclosure on the companies that have submitted proposals, or a breakdown of firms and capabilities involved would prejudice fair competition.

The Royal Navy will be deploying new undersea warfare technology as part of Atlantic Net, a new initiative that will see the Royal Navy rapidly field and iterate undersea warfare technology in collaboration with a commercial mission partner or partners. The competition for the first Atlantic Net commercial competition closed on 26 Nov 2025. I know the Hon. Gentleman will recall from his time as a Defence Minister that public disclosure on the companies that have submitted proposals, or a breakdown of firms and capabilities involved would prejudice fair competition.

We have taken the first steps to deliver the Defence Industrial Strategy commitment to strengthen early engagement with industry and integrate market insight into force and capability development. The Market Engagement Coordinating Authority has been initiated within the National Armaments Director Group and is now in its development phase. Work is underway to build out its full capability, with Initial Operating Capability planned for Q1 2026. Once operational, the Authority will bring coherence and transparency to Defence’s engagement with industry, unify Defence’s demand signals and enable structured engagement earlier in the capability development cycle, giving suppliers confidence to invest and helping accelerate acquisition.

The Department has not awarded any contracts to AeroVironment since 5 February 2025.

The UK has a world class production and manufacturing eco-system, providing high-quality, cutting-edge armaments, components, and technologies for our Armed Forces and our allies. The Defence Industrial Strategy (DIS) 2025 sets out how we will deliver a defence sector that is more competitive, integrated, innovative and resilient, including by boosting UK manufacturing. Our new alliance with the High Value Manufacturing Catapult, launched in the DIS, will lever world-leading research and development capabilities, and further accelerate industrial transformation. This builds on the strategic use of Advance Manufacturing in the development, delivery and sustainment of Defence capabilities.

We are committed to ensuring the Defence industry is a engine for economic growth through strengthened industrial relationships and domestic investment. We have committed £6 billion this Parliament towards munitions, as outlined in the Strategic Defence Review 2025, which supports defence capacity whilst generating local jobs and economic prosperity. This investment includes £1.5 billion for building six new energetics and munitions factories in the UK to deliver an ‘always on’ pipeline, locations and arrangements of which are being assessed through ongoing work.

623 vehicles have been contracted under the Mechanised Infantry Boxer Programme. The table below shows the breakdown by variant:

Since the incident during Exercise Titan Storm last month, I have been having regular discussions with key stakeholders from the Army and Ajax Programme team, and I met with General Dynamics on 9 December 2025. I have provided further details to the House via two Written Ministerial Statements and an Urgent Question reply in addition.

An alternative temporary venue in Crowborough to deliver weeknight training has been identified by the Army Cadet Force. Its suitability is being reviewed by the Royal Navy Cadet Force and Royal Air Force Air Cadets.

The Ministry of Defence continues to work with the Home Office to assess the potential impact that housing asylum seekers on military bases could have on our Cadet Forces and future activities, and to develop any necessary mitigating actions.

We have been clear that our priority remains ensuring these developments have limited impact on our Cadets, and we will always apply the appropriate safeguarding measures so that Cadet programmes can continue to be delivered.

An alternative temporary venue in Crowborough to deliver weeknight training has been identified by the Army Cadet Force. Its suitability is being reviewed by the Royal Navy Cadet Force and Royal Air Force Air Cadets.

The Ministry of Defence continues to work with the Home Office to assess the potential impact that housing asylum seekers on military bases could have on our Cadet Forces and future activities, and to develop any necessary mitigating actions.

We have been clear that our priority remains ensuring these developments have limited impact on our Cadets, and we will always apply the appropriate safeguarding measures so that Cadet programmes can continue to be delivered.

An alternative temporary venue in Crowborough to deliver weeknight training has been identified by the Army Cadet Force. Its suitability is being reviewed by the Royal Navy Cadet Force and Royal Air Force Air Cadets.

The Ministry of Defence continues to work with the Home Office to assess the potential impact that housing asylum seekers on military bases could have on our Cadet Forces and future activities, and to develop any necessary mitigating actions.

We have been clear that our priority remains ensuring these developments have limited impact on our Cadets, and we will always apply the appropriate safeguarding measures so that Cadet programmes can continue to be delivered.

Operational planning is ongoing but any deployment will depend on the conditions of the ceasefire and peace talks.

This Government is committed to ensuring our Armed Forces remain ready to respond to all challenges, including deployment to Ukraine.

The Multinational Force - Ukraine will strengthen Ukraine's path to peace and stability by securing Ukraine's skies, supporting safer seas, and regenerating Ukraine's own forces.

The focus is on developing a plan to meet the requirements of the peace deal in order to support Ukraine's Armed Forces to regenerate to defend Ukraine and support European security for generations to come.

Operational planning is ongoing but any deployment will depend on the conditions of the ceasefire and peace talks.

As the Strategic Defence Review outlines, there is a persistent and growing underwater threat to the UK and NATO from a modernising Russian submarine force.

In response, the Ministry of Defence has announced Atlantic Bastion – the Royal Navy's programme creating an advanced hybrid naval force to defend the UK and NATO allies against this evolving threat.

Atlantic Bastion will see ships, submarines, aircraft and unmanned vessels connected through AI-powered acoustic detection technology and integrated into a digital targeting web. Atlantic Bastion will enable the Armed Forces to find, track and, if required, act against adversaries with unprecedented effectiveness across vast areas of ocean. It represents a generational shift in capability and dominance in the North Atlantic.

As the First Sea Lord made clear during his speech at the International Sea Power Conference the Royal Navy must strip back bureaucracies to keep pace of threats and technological changes. Great progress has been made over the last 100 days, in particular through greater digitalisation. A very clear example of this is a new Navy Booking Application which allow naval personnel to more easily book important serials such as fitness tests, gas mask testing and welfare briefs. The application is currently seeing a 30 per cent month-on-month growth in users and will be developed further so it can scale successfully as it uses grow across the Royal Navy.

The SPEAR Capability 3 programme is currently undergoing a review. A Review Note is planned to be submitted in Quarter 1 2026 to revise its approval, which will determine the delivery of Initial Operating Capability.

Under Atlantic Bastion, announced in the Strategic Defence Review, the Royal Navy will be exploiting new technologies through a portfolio of crewed and uncrewed vehicles, sensors and nodes. The Cobalt Autonomy Stack acts as an autonomy and mission control layer, sitting above a fleet of mixed assets and connecting their sensors and effectors.

The Atlantic Bastion capability options submitted for consideration in the Defence Investment Plan include a blend of uncrewed systems, underwater payloads, options to increase lethality, and improvements to crewed platforms which are consistent with the transition to a Hybrid Navy.

This Government remains firmly committed to the objectives set out in the Strategic Defence Review. The Royal Navy Warfighting Ready Plan 2029 provides an ambitious and strategic blueprint for how the Navy with strengthen and evolve its capabilities in line with the Strategic Defence Review, in order to fulfil its role to protect the nation and its interests at a time of growing maritime threat and technological advancement. Atlantic Shield and Strike form part of the Royal Navy Warfighting Ready Plan.

Atlantic Shield and Atlantic Strike will drive significant transformation over the next four years, subject to resource allocation through the Defence Investment Plan.

This Government remains firmly committed to the objectives set out in the Strategic Defence Review. The Royal Navy Warfighting Ready Plan 2029 provides an ambitious and strategic blueprint for how the Navy with strengthen and evolve its capabilities in line with the Strategic Defence Review, in order to fulfil its role to protect the nation and its interests at a time of growing maritime threat and technological advancement. Atlantic Shield and Strike form part of the Royal Navy Warfighting Ready Plan.

Atlantic Shield and Atlantic Strike will drive significant transformation over the next four years, subject to resource allocation through the Defence Investment Plan.

A recent external review has confirmed that the Ministry of Defence's approach to mitigate and respond to civilian harm is effective in the current operating environment and fully compliant with International Humanitarian Law. Whilst impossible to predict the nuances of civilian harm mitigation and response in any future military operation, the Department continues to undertake work to ensure they can respond appropriately to a wide range of scenarios, including a large-scale conflict scenario.

Peregrine, the Royal Navy’s first Rotary Wing Uncrewed Aerial System is being recovered to the UK having been deployed in HMS Lancaster in the Gulf. Once returned, Peregrine will be reconfigured into a self-contained solution to deploy to other maritime platforms.

Crew will be required to decommission HMS Lancaster. Disposal options are currently under consideration, therefore I am unable to confirm when this process will be complete. The Royal Navy is committed to reuniting the crew with their loved ones as soon as possible and will maximise the number of personnel that can travel home for Christmas.

Crew will be required to decommission HMS Lancaster. Disposal options are currently under consideration, therefore I am unable to confirm when this process will be complete. The Royal Navy is committed to reuniting the crew with their loved ones as soon as possible and will maximise the number of personnel that can travel home for Christmas.

Engaging and supporting the women who have served in our Armed Forces is an important part of our new Veterans’ Strategy. As well as our commitments across the strategy, we will specifically be taking forward plans to establish a new women veterans’ forum, which will include women veterans from across the UK and an oral history project to improve public understanding and recognition of the experiences and contribution of women veterans in keeping the nation safe.

This year we have launched a new Veterans Strategy which recognises veterans as a national asset, the £50-million VALOUR programme making it easier for veterans to access the care and support they deserve, and confirmed £12 million for the continuation of the Reducing Veteran Homelessness Programme. In addition, dedicated supported is available to veterans through Ops FORTITUDE, COURAGE, RESTORE, ASCEND and NOVA and through programmes such as the Career Transition Partnership.

The establishment of UK Defence Innovation (UKDI) represents a fundamental shift in how the Ministry of Defence approaches innovation. The mission for UKDI is clear –to accelerate the delivery of cutting-edge capabilities so that the UK is both secured at home and strong abroad.

In September, UK Defence Innovation announced £1.5 million worth of funding over the next two years for Regional Defence and Security Clusters (RDSCs). The South-Central RDSC which covers Surrey, brings together industry, academia, and government to drive innovation and growth across the UK’s defence and security sectors. Supported by UKDI, RDSCs help bring world-leading primes together with innovative SMEs, start-ups, academia, and local and devolved government to solve military capability challenges.

The UK remains steadfast in its commitment to maintaining a presence in the Middle East, reassuring partners and contributing to regional security and stability. Central to this posture is the UK Maritime Component Command (UKMCC), located in Bahrain, with a footprint of c125 personnel, which commands and controls Royal Navy and Royal Fleet Auxiliary ships. This also includes the MOD’s role in the Combined Maritime Forces framework and the delivery of training to regional partners.

The Royal Navy is evolving its approach to operations in the Middle East, focusing on modernising capabilities, strengthening partnerships, and ensuring basing and access for times of crisis. The RN’s modernisation programme has already delivered an autonomous mine countermeasures capability operating in the Gulf, which continues to innovate at pace. In terms of personnel footprint, the RN maintains a strong regional presence, including roles within US Fifth Fleet Task Forces in Bahrain, Loan Service personnel in Oman, RN embeds in the British Military Mission in Kuwait, and RN personnel advising on seabed warfare through the Ministry of Defence Saudi Armed Forces Programme (MODSAP) programme in Saudi Arabia.

The RN remains agile and ready to respond to emerging threats, deploying platforms to meet Defence Plan commitments and operational requirements, which are continuously reviewed.

The UK remains steadfast in its commitment to maintaining a presence in the Middle East, reassuring partners and contributing to regional security and stability. Central to this posture is the UK Maritime Component Command (UKMCC), located in Bahrain, with a footprint of c125 personnel, which commands and controls Royal Navy and Royal Fleet Auxiliary ships. This also includes the MOD’s role in the Combined Maritime Forces framework and the delivery of training to regional partners.

The Royal Navy is evolving its approach to operations in the Middle East, focusing on modernising capabilities, strengthening partnerships, and ensuring basing and access for times of crisis. The RN’s modernisation programme has already delivered an autonomous mine countermeasures capability operating in the Gulf, which continues to innovate at pace. In terms of personnel footprint, the RN maintains a strong regional presence, including roles within US Fifth Fleet Task Forces in Bahrain, Loan Service personnel in Oman, RN embeds in the British Military Mission in Kuwait, and RN personnel advising on seabed warfare through the Ministry of Defence Saudi Armed Forces Programme (MODSAP) programme in Saudi Arabia.

The RN remains agile and ready to respond to emerging threats, deploying platforms to meet Defence Plan commitments and operational requirements, which are continuously reviewed.

The Ministry of Defence does not categorise Command Support Air Transport (CSAT) missions under the classification of operational, diplomatic or domestic travel.

The majority of CSAT tasks are operational or in support of operations with Operational Command Support activity being the top priority.

Separately, RAF Voyager aircraft can be utilised in a VIP role under Op VESPINA though their primary role remains air-to-air refuelling. Op VESPINA is undertaken subject to availability.

The Royal Navy Warfighting Ready Plan 2029 offers an ambitious and strategic blueprint outlining how the Navy will strengthen and evolve its capabilities over the next four years. The plan is designed to define our strategic priorities while delivering significant transformation. This iterative and agile approach enables the Royal Navy to focus on what matters most – acting decisively where it counts, responding to threat with the urgency it demands and learning rapidly, adjusting based on the resources available. The specific financial costs will therefore be subject to capability decisions and resource choices as directed within the Defence Investment Plan.

There are four senior legal officials in Defence. The highest-ranking legal advisers are:
Director Army Legal Services (Major General)
Director Legal Services, Royal Air Force (Air Vice Marshal)
Director Legal for the Royal Navy (Commodore)

Director MOD Legal Advisers (Civil Service Director, SCS2)

This answer covers employment tribunal settlements and common law compensation claim settlements.

For employment tribunal settlements, in some cases, it has been necessary to categorise harassment and discrimination together, where the claimant has alleged complaints of both within the same claim form.

Bullying: nil

Harassment and discrimination: seven settlements

Discrimination: six settlements

Physical and sexual abuse: nil

Assault: nil

For claims, the answer reflects settlement of common law compensation claims against the Ministry of Defence where bullying, harassment or discrimination, sexual harassment or sexual abuse and physical abuse or assault are the main causes of action. Settlements have been defined as claims where both compensation and claimant legal costs have settled. Given the way such claims are categorised and recorded, it is not possible to separate between bullying, harassment and discrimination. Sexual harassment and sexual abuse are categorised together, as are physical abuse and assault.

Bullying, harassment and discrimination: Eight settlements

Sexual harassment and sexual abuse: 12 settlements

Physical abuse and assault: Fewer than five settlements

This answer does not include any settlement of damages in 2024-2025 where legal costs have not been finalised. Numbers fewer than five are not provided in order to reduce the possible inadvertent disclosure of claimant identities.

Both the Armed Forces Compensation Scheme (AFCS) and War Pensions Scheme (WPS) are no-fault schemes to pay compensation for injuries, illness or death caused or made worse by service. Awards are granted for injuries/illnesses/deaths and not specific events within their service. Identifying if the claimant has stated their injuries/illnesses/deaths were suffered as a result of clinical negligence would exceed the appropriate cost limit as it would require a manual file search of every claim file.

The Raising Our Standards Programme, launched in September 2024, is driving vital cultural change through improved education, training, reporting systems, and trust in leadership. We are strengthening reporting pathways to ensure employees feel safe to report and challenge behaviours. For non-criminal complaints, the MyComplaints App enables Service and Civil Servant personnel to raise issues outside their chain of command. The forthcoming Tri-service Complaints Unit will handle the most serious cases of bullying, harassment and discrimination.

Together, these initiatives create a culture where victim-survivors are supported through every route they choose, empowering them with autonomy and confidence. This commitment underpins a safer, more respectful environment for all personnel.

The total contract value for the MORPHEUS Evolve to Open Transition Partner contract was £395 million. Due to the confidentiality provisions in the contract protecting commercial interests, we are unable to provide further detail.