Asked by: James Cartlidge (Conservative - South Suffolk)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, if he will state the length of HMS Dragon's deployment to Cyprus.
Answered by Al Carns - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for Veterans)
As the Secretary of State informed the House on 9 March 2026 - the Chief of the Defence Staff reviewed the proposal to deploy HMS Dragon to the Eastern Mediterranean on the 3 March 2026 and the Secretary of State signed it off the same day. Before coming to this decision, discussions were held on this and other topics, with both officials and Ministerial colleagues. HMS Dragon departed from Portsmouth on 10 March 2026 and for operational security reasons, we will not comment on the duration of her deployment to the Eastern Mediterranean.
Asked by: James Cartlidge (Conservative - South Suffolk)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, when HMS Dragon will be deployed to Cyprus.
Answered by Al Carns - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for Veterans)
As the Secretary of State informed the House on 9 March 2026 - the Chief of the Defence Staff reviewed the proposal to deploy HMS Dragon to the Eastern Mediterranean on the 3 March 2026 and the Secretary of State signed it off the same day. Before coming to this decision, discussions were held on this and other topics, with both officials and Ministerial colleagues. HMS Dragon departed from Portsmouth on 10 March 2026 and for operational security reasons, we will not comment on the duration of her deployment to the Eastern Mediterranean.
Asked by: James Cartlidge (Conservative - South Suffolk)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether he held any discussions with (a) officials from his Department or (b) his ministerial colleagues on the deployment of HMS Dragon before 3 March 2026.
Answered by Al Carns - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for Veterans)
As the Secretary of State informed the House on 9 March 2026 - the Chief of the Defence Staff reviewed the proposal to deploy HMS Dragon to the Eastern Mediterranean on the 3 March 2026 and the Secretary of State signed it off the same day. Before coming to this decision, discussions were held on this and other topics, with both officials and Ministerial colleagues. HMS Dragon departed from Portsmouth on 10 March 2026 and for operational security reasons, we will not comment on the duration of her deployment to the Eastern Mediterranean.
Asked by: James Cartlidge (Conservative - South Suffolk)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, on what date did he first discuss the deployment of HMS Dragon to Cyprus.
Answered by Al Carns - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for Veterans)
As the Secretary of State informed the House on 9 March 2026 - the Chief of the Defence Staff reviewed the proposal to deploy HMS Dragon to the Eastern Mediterranean on the 3 March 2026 and the Secretary of State signed it off the same day. Before coming to this decision, discussions were held on this and other topics, with both officials and Ministerial colleagues. HMS Dragon departed from Portsmouth on 10 March 2026 and for operational security reasons, we will not comment on the duration of her deployment to the Eastern Mediterranean.
Asked by: James Cartlidge (Conservative - South Suffolk)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, when the decision was made to deploy HMS Dragon to Cyprus.
Answered by Al Carns - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for Veterans)
As the Secretary of State informed the House on 9 March 2026 - the Chief of the Defence Staff reviewed the proposal to deploy HMS Dragon to the Eastern Mediterranean on the 3 March 2026 and the Secretary of State signed it off the same day. Before coming to this decision, discussions were held on this and other topics, with both officials and Ministerial colleagues. HMS Dragon departed from Portsmouth on 10 March 2026 and for operational security reasons, we will not comment on the duration of her deployment to the Eastern Mediterranean.
Asked by: James Cartlidge (Conservative - South Suffolk)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether the Royal Navy made a formal offer for the preposition of a Type 45 Destroyer between 1 January 2026 and 2 February 2026.
Answered by Al Carns - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for Veterans)
We constantly review deployments of Royal Navy assets in line with securing the interests of the UK and our allies. No formal offer was made by the Royal Navy to deploy a Type 45 Destroyer ahead of HMS Dragon’s deployment at the first available moment on 10 March 2026.
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 and European allies to develop low-cost air defence weapons to protect NATO skies, published on 20 February 2026, what is the name of the first project to be delivered by 2027.
Answered by Luke Pollard - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
The low-cost air defence effector project under the LEAP initiative, as announced on 20 February, is entering the concept demonstration phase. No project name has yet been allocated and the name of the weapon system will depend on which proposal is taken forward into production.
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 and European allies to develop low-cost air defence weapons to protect NATO skies, published on 20 February 2026, what is the name of the first project to be delivered by 2027.
Answered by Luke Pollard - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
The low-cost air defence effector project under the LEAP initiative, as announced on 20 February, is entering the concept demonstration phase. No project name has yet been allocated and the name of the weapon system will depend on which proposal is taken forward into production.
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 and European allies to develop low-cost air defence weapons to protect NATO skies, published on 20 February 2026, whether the new surface-to-air missile will be assessed using Minimum Deployable Capability.
Answered by Luke Pollard - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
The low-cost air defence effector project under the LEAP initiative, as announced on 20 February, is now entering the international industrial selection phase. The new weapon system will be introduced through the spiral acquisition model, delivering a Minimum Deployable Capability followed by iterative enhancements.
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 and European allies to develop low-cost air defence weapons to protect NATO skies, published on 20 February 2026, what will the new surface-to-air weapon be called.
Answered by Luke Pollard - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
The low-cost air defence effector project under the LEAP initiative, as announced on 20 February, is entering the concept demonstration phase. No project name has yet been allocated and the name of the weapon system will depend on which proposal is taken forward into production.