Ukraine: Arms and Ammunition Costs
Debate between Lord Trefgarne and Lord Harlech
Lord Harlech (Con)
My Lords, I declare my interest as a serving Army reservist. The £7.1 billion that we have committed since February 2022 covers a broad range of military support to Ukraine. This includes rapid procurement and gifting of equipment, development of international capability coalitions and training support through Operation Interflex. We have not provided a breakdown of this military support to Ukraine to ensure that we do not jeopardise a live operation by putting into the public domain information that could be used to assist our adversaries.
Lord Trefgarne (Con)
My Lords, I am grateful to my noble friend for that answer, which I understand. However, is he clear that the extent of the training being carried out for Ukrainian personnel is, to some extent, causing some problems, not least with the Hawk aircraft? I gather that nine of these aircraft went unserviceable.
Lord Harlech (Con)
My Lords, Operation Interflex and all training for Ukrainian armed service personnel are key components of our support for their fight. The UK continues to deliver a major training operation for Ukrainian forces, with over 36,000 Ukrainian personnel trained in the UK since June 2022 and more than 60,000 Ukrainians trained since Russia launched its invasion of Ukraine in 2014.
Ministry of Defence Procurement: Accountability
Debate between Lord Trefgarne and Lord Harlech
Lord Harlech (Con)
My Lords, my interpretation of what red means differs somewhat. Defence proudly delivers some of the largest programmes across government. These processes are complex, and the delivery confidence assessments are an important tool to provide challenge and support for successful delivery. A project being rated red or amber does not necessarily mean that it will not be delivered on time or budget; it means that we have identified risks that need managing. We see this as effective programme management. The MoD will continue to introduce changes to improve our management of major projects.
Lord Trefgarne (Con)
My Lords, I declare an interest: I was the Defence Procurement Minister from 1986 to 1989. My worst moment was having to explain to my then right honourable friend the Prime Minister that we were about to cancel the AEW Nimrod—she was not amused. On the other side of the scale, we ordered the Challenger 2 tanks, which are now playing an important part in Ukraine.
Lord Harlech (Con)
I am pleased to say that Challenger 3, the main battle tank to replace Challenger 2, is proceeding according to plan.
Carrier Strike Group
Debate between Lord Trefgarne and Lord Harlech
Lord Harlech (Con)
I understand the point that the noble and gallant Lord is making. In 2022, the number of UK F35Bs available for embarked operations to support routine carrier deployments was a squadron of up to 12 jets. This number will increase to the full operating capability for F35Bs, currently scheduled for 2025, which is up to two UK squadrons. The Royal Air Force intends to continue upgrading these aircraft in line with the wider programme and to equip them with UK weapons, including the UK-developed SPEAR Cap 3 and Meteor.
Lord Trefgarne (Con)
My Lords, what is the present size of the Royal Navy and is it sufficient for the purposes referred to in this Question?
Lord Harlech (Con)
My Lords, I will have to write to my noble friend on the exact size.