Chris Clarkson
Main Page: Chris Clarkson (Conservative - Heywood and Middleton)Department Debates - View all Chris Clarkson's debates with the Ministry of Defence
(2 years, 4 months ago)
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Andrew Jones (Harrogate and Knaresborough) (Con)
Chris Clarkson (Heywood and Middleton) (Con)
Chris Clarkson
As we have seen from recent events in Ukraine, air combat is incredibly important to maintaining our national security and also, as has been mentioned, to maintaining our economic security-supporting businesses, such as Middleton-based MSM in my constituency. Can my hon. Friend tell me what is being done to ensure that the RAF retains its cutting-edge capabilities?
Jeremy Quin
A brilliantly topical question, if I may say so, with Farnborough taking place this very week. I was delighted to announce last Friday at the Royal International Air Tattoo our £2.3 billion investment in ECRS mark 2 radar. This British-made world-leading electronic warfare capability will transform our combat air. It is just one example of how we will continue to invest in combat air as we develop our next generation future combat air system programme. We are currently investing some £2 billion into FCAS, with industry and international partners likewise investing in what will be an extraordinary combat capability.