Asked by: James Cartlidge (Conservative - South Suffolk)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what contribution the UK will make towards the $50 billion in new defence procurements announced by NATO Allies in Ankara.
Answered by Luke Pollard - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
As part of our commitment to NATO First and delivering the capabilities needed to meet the alliance’s warfighting requirements, the UK announced several significant contributions towards defence procurement at the Ankara Summit. Notably the UK has played a leading role in coordinating the Deep Precision Strike initiative, which brings together 12 European Allies with an expected investment of over $50 billion over the next decade to develop advanced deep precision strike capabilities available to the Alliance. The UK’s contribution includes developing capabilities that strengthen NATO’s deterrence and defence posture through a commitment in the Defence Investment Plan to spend £3 billion on Deep Precision Strike capabilities by 2030. Notably, the UK has announced its intention to join the Precision Strike Missile programme, backed by £190 million in the Defence Investment Plan.
Asked by: James Cartlidge (Conservative - South Suffolk)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what is the range of a STRATUS missile.
Answered by Luke Pollard - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
As he will recall from his time as a Defence Minister, the operational range for the Stratus LO missile is classified information. However, the range is significantly greater than the Storm Shadow and Harpoon weapons that it is replacing.
Asked by: James Cartlidge (Conservative - South Suffolk)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many STRATUS missiles will his department procure in total.
Answered by Luke Pollard - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
As he will recall from his time as a Defence Minister, for operational and security reasons the Department does not make public the intended stockpile for the Stratus missiles.
Asked by: James Cartlidge (Conservative - South Suffolk)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, when will the first test be for the STRATUS missile.
Answered by Luke Pollard - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
The Stratus programme continually advances the technology readiness levels and system maturity through a combination of modelling, sub-system testing and trials. To date, the programme has completed testing of the airframe design, engine demonstration, warhead and seeker performance. The first full scale system tests are scheduled from 2028.
Asked by: James Cartlidge (Conservative - South Suffolk)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what steps his department is taking to ensure UK defence manufacturers benefit from the new NATO commitment to expand collective manufacturing capacity.
Answered by Luke Pollard - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
The Department is working to ensure UK defence manufacturers benefit from NATO’s focus on expanding collective manufacturing capacity by leveraging NATO mechanisms, including the Defence Production Action Plan, the NATO Defence Industrial Production Board, and the Innovation Scale-Up Package, to boost an aggregated demand, improve interoperability, strengthen supply chain resilience, and provide clearer long-term demand signals to industry. The Defence Industrial Strategy and Defence Investment Plan reinforce this approach by supporting collaborative programmes with NATO Allies, including deep precision strike, air defence, autonomous systems, munitions production, future combat air and anti-submarine warfare, while helping UK firms access new export and multinational procurement opportunities and take advantage of the shift to “always on production".
Asked by: James Cartlidge (Conservative - South Suffolk)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what is the total cost of procuring a single STRATUS missile.
Answered by Luke Pollard - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
The Ministry of Defence is currently negotiating with industry the Demonstration Phase costs for the system. The total costs are currently withheld for commercial sensitivity.
Asked by: James Cartlidge (Conservative - South Suffolk)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what estimate he has made of the proportion of his Department's budget that will be been spent on the Chagos treaty in each remaining year of the current Parliament.
Answered by Luke Pollard - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
No payments are due under the terms of the UK-Mauritius agreement until the Treaty has been ratified.
Asked by: James Cartlidge (Conservative - South Suffolk)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether he has conducted an assessment of the implications for NATO should implementation of the Defence Investment Plan be delayed.
Answered by Louise Sandher-Jones - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for the Armed Forces)
The Government is committed to the implementation of the Defence Investmeny Plan (DIP).
The DIP implements our ‘NATO First’ approach, placing NATO requirements and interoperability at the heart of UK capability planning. The decisions we have taken will increase the UK’s readiness for the future fight, whilst sustaining our contribution to NATO operations and deterrence activity.
Asked by: James Cartlidge (Conservative - South Suffolk)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to the Defence Select Committee session on the Defence Investment Plan on 7 July 2026, what assessment he has made of the potential risks to UK national security arising from the delay in the implementation of capabilities identified in the Defence Investment Plan.
Answered by Luke Pollard - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
This Government has ended the underfunding and hollowing out of our Armed Forces that we inherited from the last administration.
Backed by £298 billion of investment over the next four years, the Defence Investment Plan will deliver a step change in capability, transforming our Armed Forces and realising the vision set out in the 2025 Strategic Defence Review.
We have not waited for the publication of the Defence Investment Plan to take action. Since July 2024, we have awarded more than 1,400 defence contracts, with 94% of their total value going to UK-based businesses, strengthening our defence industrial base and supporting jobs and growth across the country. Last year alone, we spent more than £31 billion with UK industry – an above inflation increase in spending.
Asked by: James Cartlidge (Conservative - South Suffolk)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to his Department's press release entitled UK drone transformation to strengthen Armed Forces backed by more than £5 billion, published on 29 June 2026, whether the £5 billion to be spent on drones over the next four years is in addition to the £4 billion to be spent on autonomous systems announced by his Department on 2 June 2025.
Answered by Luke Pollard - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
This government has increased military drone and autonomous system spending as part of the £298 billion Defence Investment Plan.
The Defence Investment Plan allocated over £5 billion to military drone and autonomous systems, increasing spending from £4 billion to £5 billion over the next four years. This will cover programmes across the Maritime, Land, and Air domains to support the transformation of our Armed Forces, and includes a multitude of capabilities, ranging from the Hybrid Naval Fleet to One-Way Attack Drones.