Asked by: David Reed (Conservative - Exmouth and Exeter East)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what was the total cost to the public purse of training personnel on jet aircraft in (a) the UK and (b) overseas in each of the last five years; and what proportion of the total training budget each represents.
Answered by Luke Pollard - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)
The UK Military Flying Training System (UKMFTS) cost for the Fast Jet training element over the last 5 years was circa £500.4 million. That includes fixed and multiple variable costs such as fuel, instructor and trainee salary, infrastructure/accommodation upkeep, aerodrome operations and runway refurbishment.
The cost detail for Fast Jet Outsourced Training over the last five years is being withheld to protect commercial confidentiality. Outsourcing services are negotiated Government to Government via Memorandums of Understanding and Technical Arrangements and therefore it is not appropriate to disclose specific cost detail.
It is not possible to state what proportion of the total training budget this represents as the information is not held in this format and could only be provided at disproportionate cost.
Asked by: David Reed (Conservative - Exmouth and Exeter East)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many UK personnel have been trained on jet aircraft in (a) the UK and (b) overseas in each of the last five years; and in which countries overseas training has taken place.
Answered by Luke Pollard - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)
In the last five years there have been 82 UK personnel trained on fast jet (FJ) aircraft in the UK and 22 UK personnel trained on fast jet aircraft overseas. Overseas training has taken place in the USA and Italy.
Financial Year | 2020-21 | 2021-22 | 2022-23 | 2023-24 | 2024-25 | TOTAL |
FJ Pilots trained in the UK | 24 | 28 | 5 | 7 | 18 | 82 |
FJ Pilots trained overseas | 0 | 0 | 7 | 8 | 7 | 22 |
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 assessment he has made of the potential impact of the high fatigue index in the remaining Hawk T1 fleet on the total number of available UK-based training hours for personnel.
Answered by Maria Eagle - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
Hawk T1 is not employed in a flying training role. The Hawk T1 airframes are solely allocated to sustaining the Royal Air Force Aerobatic Team, The Red Arrows.
As given in the answer to Question 23535, across all airframes we have retained more than sufficient overall remaining available fatigue life to ensure all Red Arrows tasking until 2030 as planned.
Asked by: David Reed (Conservative - Exmouth and Exeter East)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the annual cost is to maintain the Hawk T1 fleet under the existing fleet maintenance contract.
Answered by Maria Eagle - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
There are two support contracts in place to support the Hawk TMk1 to its out of service date in March 2030 and the Hawk TMk2 to 2033. Specific terms and conditions are subject to commercial confidentiality. In the financial year from 2023-24 the value for solely the TMk1 aircraft maintenance was £27.7 million.
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 - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
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: 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 10 December to Question 17489 on Electronic Warfare: Training, what percentage of the Ministry of Defence's demand for personnel with cyber warfare skills is being met; and how many personnel have been trained to date to meet this demand.
Answered by Luke Pollard - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)
This Government inherited a retention and recruitment crisis with every part of our Armed Forces not meeting their recruitment targets. Cyber is a key area for the military and we are seeking to expand the number of people working in cyber. The Defence Secretary announced a new direct entry route into cyber last year and this will be rolled out this year.
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 9 December 2024 to Question 17490 on Armed Forces and Ministry of Defence: Artificial Intelligence, what the breakdown is between (a) public and (b) private sector involvement in the (i) development and (ii) deployment of (A) machine learning and (B) artificial intelligence technologies within the Armed Forces.
Answered by Maria Eagle - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
Many AI technologies, including machine learning, have dual uses and are developed across a broad technology ecosystem. Defence needs to leverage expertise from this ecosystem to solve critical military problems and maintain its edge. The Defence AI Centre (DAIC) and CommercialX are leading efforts to engage with technology suppliers through simplified processes and better cross-Ministry of Defence (MOD) coordination.
Most Defence AI and ML projects will use both in-house and external expertise. Differentiating between public and private sector involvement at a pan-Defence macro level is challenging and not currently tracked. AI deployments within the Department must follow MOD's Responsible AI policy, as outlined in Joint Services Publication 936 (Dependable AI).
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 5 December 2024 to Question 17476 on Amphibious Vehicles, whether his Department has identified reductions in amphibious capability from the use of Bay Class Landing Ship Docks in place of HMS Albion and HMS Bulwark.
Answered by Luke Pollard - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)
The previous administration had no plans for either HMS Albion or HMS Bulwark to return to sea ahead of their leaving service in the 2030s, therefore there has been no reduction in capability.
The Bay Class are highly capable ships and, alongside RFA Argus, will continue to support Royal Marine operations until the introduction of Multi-Role Support Ships in the early 2030s.
Asked by: David Reed (Conservative - Exmouth and Exeter East)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what steps he is taking to simplify procurement processes to enable (a) micro, (b) small and (c) medium-sized companies to compete more effectively for defence contracts.
Answered by Maria Eagle - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
The Procurement Act 2023 introduces reforms intended to make it easier for small businesses to access public sector procurements, including a requirement for contracting authorities to consider barriers to participation and whether they can be removed or reduced.
UK industry partners of all sizes, including SMEs, are at the heart of our One Defence approach and we recognise the vital contribution they make in driving economic growth and strengthening our national security.
The Defence Industrial Strategy will set the conditions to unlock the full potential of SMEs to innovate at pace and seize future opportunities.
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 5 December 2024 to Question 17477 on RFA Argus: Amphibious Vehicles, whether his Department has identified reductions in amphibious capability from the use of RFA Argus in place of HMS Albion and HMS Bulwark.
Answered by Luke Pollard - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)
The previous administration had no plans for either HMS Albion or HMS Bulwark to return to sea ahead of their leaving service in the 2030s, therefore there has been no reduction in capability.
RFA Argus, alongside Bay Class, is a highly capable ship and will continue to support Royal Marine operations until the introduction of Multi-Role Support Ships in the early 2030s.