Asked by: Lord Chidgey (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether the training provided to 120,000 soldiers in Iraq has extended to contributing arms and equipment from companies in the British defence industry; and, if not, whether it will in the future.
Answered by Baroness Goldie
Since September 2014, the UK alongside allies has been supporting Iraqi Security Forces in their fight against Daesh, as part of a coalition and at the invitation of the Government of Iraq. In addition to training, the UK supports the Iraqi Security Forces with supplies of military equipment. As a result, the UK, has gifted equipment to Iraq.
The equipment to the Iraqi Security Forces has been gifted either directly from the UK MOD, using stock surpluses or through procuring equipment from British Defence Industry. For instance, in 2015 the UK MOD gifted C-IED equipment from surplus stock and more recently the UK gifted outdoor clothing, personal load carriage and chest rig equipment, which was procured from a British Defence Company.
Future provision of support to Iraq will be determined by many factors including the type of equipment required and its availability. Any request for such equipment is judged on a case-by-case basis.
For further details on the equipment gifted to Iraq, please refer to the UK Strategic Export Controls Annual Reports available on gov.uk.
Asked by: Lord Chidgey (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the implementation of the new regional training initiative in the Western Balkans; and whether it will include joint training for Serbia, North Macedonia, and Kosovo.
Answered by Baroness Goldie
The establishment of a Western Balkans regional training initiative is a further sign of the UK's continuing commitment to the Western Balkans. The initiative will develop our understanding of the training needs of the Armed Forces of the Western Balkans, and improve the way we coordinate and deliver training and capacity building. We aim to ensure the nations of the region can contribute to international security and to increase cooperation. The training cell will be established later this year and discussions are ongoing about what training will be provided.
Asked by: Lord Chidgey (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to draw the personnel for the new Ranger Regiment from all Infantry units of the British Army; what assessment they have made of the additional training resources required for that regiment to be able to operate in complex and high risk environments; and what assessment they have made of the impact on the establishment of such a regiment on (1) extended overseas deployments, and (2) any additional training and advisory agreements made with other nations consequent upon these deployments.
Answered by Baroness Goldie
The new Ranger Regiment is part of an Army Special Operations Brigade and will receive a share of a £120 million investment over the next four years. It will initially be seeded from the four Specialised Infantry Battalions and in time will become all-arms units capable of supporting and conducting special operations in high-risk environments.
Under the transformation announced by the Secretary of State for Defence, the Army will be more actively and persistently engaged overseas. This does not mean that all deployments will be lengthy and the impact on individuals and their families will be carefully managed under policy designed to ensure that they are not over-stretched. To complement the Army Special Operations Brigade, a Security Force Assistance (SFA) Brigade will also be established and this will form the foundation of the Army's contribution to persistent engagement overseas.
The Army will use spring and early summer 2021 to refine and test the designs, capabilities and structure of its units before making more detailed announcements later this year.
Asked by: Lord Chidgey (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of reducing the strength of the Royal Marines Corps from 6,500 to 6,100 personnel; and whether this will affect the Royal Marine Corp's capacity to operate across different operational domains.
Answered by Baroness Goldie
As the Royal Marines transition into the Future Commando Force and turn to new upgraded and autonomous capabilities, there is the potential for the workforce structure to change in the future. Any reduction in personnel will not affect the capability of the Royal Marines to operate across different operational arenas.
Asked by: Lord Chidgey (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what analysis has been conducted to investigate the potential interoperability between NATO Maritime Patrol Aircraft, available in 2019, and the Queen Elizabeth Class Aircraft Carrier and its F-35B Lightning II aircraft.
Answered by Lord Astor of Hever
A Key User Requirement for the Queen Elizabeth Class platforms is to be able to integrate with all elements of Joint/Combined Forces. The F35B's communication systems will facilitate cooperation with a number of different aircraft types, including NATO Maritime Patrol Aircraft, such as the P3C, P8 and Atlantique II.
Asked by: Lord Chidgey (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what analysis has been conducted to establish the potential systems and cost benefits of including a long-range maritime surveillance and anti-submarine warfare aircraft in the United Kingdom strategic deterrent system or systems.
Answered by Lord Astor of Hever
We have performed a number of assessments of the potential impact that a maritime patrol aircraft might have on the security of the strategic deterrent system. The potential contribution of such aircraft to the maintenance of continuous at-sea deterrence is well understood.
I am withholding further information as its disclosure would or would likely prejudice national security.
Asked by: Lord Chidgey (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what evidence-based analysis they have conducted to establish the vulnerability of the Queen Elizabeth-class aircraft carriers to modern anti-ship missile threats.
Answered by Lord Astor of Hever
Comprehensive threat and survivability analysis was conducted by Defence Science and Technology Laboratories during the design phase of the Queen Elizabeth Class (QEC) aircraft carriers. The output of this analysis is periodically reviewed and updated with input from Defence Intelligence Services and the Maritime Warfare Centre, and used to inform continued development of the operating procedures and war-fighting doctrine for the QEC.
I am withholding further details of this analysis and its conclusions as disclosure would, or would be likely to, prejudice the capability, effectiveness or security of the Armed Forces.
Asked by: Lord Chidgey (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what evidence-based analysis they have conducted to establish the vulnerability of the Queen Elizabeth-class aircraft carriers to modern submarine threats.
Answered by Lord Astor of Hever
Comprehensive threat and survivability analysis was conducted by Defence Science and Technology Laboratories during the design phase of the Queen Elizabeth Class (QEC) aircraft carriers. The output of this analysis is periodically reviewed and updated with input from Defence Intelligence Services and the Maritime Warfare Centre, and used to inform continued development of the operating procedures and war-fighting doctrine for the QEC.
I am withholding further details of this analysis and its conclusions as disclosure would, or would be likely to, prejudice the capability, effectiveness or security of the Armed Forces.
Asked by: Lord Chidgey (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government how long they estimate it will take to procure an armed long-range anti-submarine warfare and maritime surveillance capability, based on a manned aircraft, after the 2015 Strategic Defence and Security Review has been completed.
Answered by Lord Astor of Hever
The time it would take to acquire such an aircraft would depend on the platform selected, the availability of funding, and commercial arrangements. It is therefore not possible to provide a specific timeline.
Asked by: Lord Chidgey (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether the Air ISTAR Optimisation Study included any analysis of the comparative whole-life costs across all Defence Lines of Development of deploying the different solutions to any maritime surveillance and long-range anti-submarine warfare capability gap.
Answered by Lord Astor of Hever
The information requested is not available, as typically such questions are addressed at a later stage in a procurement cycle. A decision on whether to acquire a new capability will not be made until the next Strategic Defence and Security Review.