Asked by: Luke Akehurst (Labour - North Durham)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what assessment his Department has made of the potential merits of an expanded role for the Joint Expeditionary Force in European security over the coming years.
Answered by Al Carns - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for the Armed Forces)
The Joint Expeditionary Force strengthens NATO by operating actively, routinely, and rapidly in the Northern hemisphere.
As the threat to Europe grows more acute, JEF activity has grown in scale and ambition. Ex TARASSIS, the JEF’s flagship 2025 exercise, was the largest in its history. Ex LION PROTECTOR this year is planned to be more ambitious still.
While the JEF is an open and accessible framework which welcomes collaboration with non-members, it has a bounded area of strategic interest focused on the North Atlantic, Baltic, and High North and Arctic. NATO remains the cornerstone of European security writ large and the JEF remains complementary by design.
Asked by: Luke Akehurst (Labour - North Durham)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether any Ministry of Defence procurement has been adversely impacted by delays in the delivery of USA-manufactured weapons as a result of the conflict in Iran.
Answered by Luke Pollard - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
While the conflict in Iran has resulted in changes to delivery schedules of some munitions, Ministry of Defence teams work continuously with US partners to assess and adapt procurement programmes to ensure support to operations. We cannot comment further on specific munitions or stockpile questions for security reasons.
Asked by: Luke Akehurst (Labour - North Durham)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what assessment he has made of whether the UK/EU–Ukraine Defence Innovation Corridor could help UK drone manufacturers benefiting from the Ukraine drone package to develop longer-term co-production and technology-sharing arrangements with Ukrainian industry.
Answered by Luke Pollard - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
The UK continues to assess the strategic landscape across Europe for opportunities that contribute to our collective defence and military industrial resilience. This has included officials meeting representatives of the UK/EU–Ukraine Defence Innovation Corridor and providing advice on how this early‑stage proposal could align with existing UK–Ukraine engagement on defence innovation and capability development.
The Ministry of Defence’s (MOD) focus is delivering Programme LYRA, which the Prime Minister and President Zelenskyy announced last June, and unlocking export control restrictions that will enable UK drone manufacturers to benefit from co-production and technology sharing arrangements, alongside supporting the exchange of battlefield data, with UK technologists and industry working alongside Ukrainian industry. MOD facilitates collaboration between Ukrainian and UK drone manufacturers by enabling co-location, testing and close working relationships to support both our industries and enhance innovation. The establishment of the UK’s Business Centre in Kyiv will help facilitate this for the benefit of UK, European, and Ukrainian industry.
Asked by: Luke Akehurst (Labour - North Durham)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what discussions his Department has had with UK (a) SMEs and (b) early-stage defence technology companies on developing (i) counter-drone and (ii) electronic warfare capabilities informed by lessons from Ukraine.
Answered by Luke Pollard - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
Procurement teams along with the National Armaments group routinely engage with Industry, including subject matter experts, to deliver the capability requirements of UK Armed Forces. These are informed by the current threat picture as well as lessons learnt from Ukraine, which include the need for a faster 'learn and adapt' cycle to accelerate the development of capability, doctrine and tactics.
More broadly, the Strategic Defence Review considered all aspects of Defence, including the capabilities required by the UK to meet prevailing challenges, threats, and opportunities. Work to deliver Strategic Defence Review's recommendations, including on Integrated Air and Missile Defence, drones and electromagnetic warfare will be set out in the forthcoming Defence Investment Plan.
Asked by: Luke Akehurst (Labour - North Durham)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what funding has been allocated from the up to £1 billion announced for UK air and missile defence specifically to counter-drone technologies; and what proportion of that funding is directed toward industry-led innovation.
Answered by Luke Pollard - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
Work to deliver the Strategic Defence Reviews recommendations, including the proposed distribution of the allocation for Integrated Air and Missile Defence, will be set out in the forthcoming Defence Investment Plan.
Asked by: Luke Akehurst (Labour - North Durham)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to the Answer of 20 April 2026 to Question 125978, what metrics his Department is using to assess the effectiveness of the learn and adapt cycle referenced in relation to lessons from Ukraine; and how frequently these assessments are reviewed by Ministers.
Answered by Luke Pollard - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
His Majesty’s Government continually monitors and assesses the threats to the United Kingdom.
Ukraine is demonstrating that the pace of the ‘learn and adapt’ cycle has accelerated exponentially. Capability concepts through acquisition to employment to countermeasures can now take weeks, if not months. Defence’s lessons governance mechanism provides interpretation of lessons and how they relate to the UK and identifies pathways for remedial action. Our relationship with Ukraine has allowed the UK to continually improve this approach.
Asked by: Luke Akehurst (Labour - North Durham)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what milestones and timelines will be set out in the Defence Investment Plan for the delivery of Integrated Air and Missile Defence capabilities, including counter-drone systems and electromagnetic warfare.
Answered by Luke Pollard - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
Work to deliver the Strategic Defence Reviews recommendations, including on the milestones and timelines for delivery of Integrated Air and Missile Defence capabilities, including counter-drone systems and electromagnetic warfare will be set out in the forthcoming Defence Investment Plan.
Asked by: Luke Akehurst (Labour - North Durham)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what steps his Department is taking to ensure investment into the drone package for Ukraine helps generate sustained UK domestic industrial capacity.
Answered by Luke Pollard - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
At the most recent Ukraine Defence Contact Group (UDCG) in April, the Defence Secretary announced the UK's largest-ever drone package for Ukraine, delivering at least 120,000 drones this year, with deliveries already underway.
The majority of this investment will be spent with UK-based companies, including Tekever, Windracers and Malloy Aeronautics, supporting high-skilled jobs and strengthening domestic production capacity. This approach helps ensure that rapid support to Ukraine also contributes to the long-term growth, resilience and scalability of the UK's defence industrial base.
Asked by: Luke Akehurst (Labour - North Durham)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what assessment he has made of the threat posed by hostile drone activity to UK critical national infrastructure, what steps his Department is taking to develop (a) drone jamming and (b) electronic signal disruption capabilities to counter that threat; and what steps his Department is taking to draw on lessons derived from Ukraine's operational experience in doing so.
Answered by Al Carns - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for the Armed Forces)
I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave him on 20 April 2026, to Question 125978.
https://questions-statements.parliament.uk/written-questions/detail/2026-04-10/125978
Asked by: Luke Akehurst (Labour - North Durham)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what steps his Department is taking to help ensure that the economic benefits from the Ukraine drone package are distributed across all regions of the United Kingdom, including the North East of England; and what support his Department is providing to defence technology SMEs in the North East of England to help them access supply chain and export opportunities arising from the UK's increased drone manufacturing commitments for Ukraine.
Answered by Al Carns - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for the Armed Forces)
In April 2026, the Department announced the biggest ever drone package for Ukraine, delivering at least 120,000 drones for Ukraine this year. Most of this spending will be with UK companies, several of which were selected through open and fair competitions.
In terms of supporting defence technology SMEs, particularly in the North East of England, in September 2025, UK Defence Innovation (UKDI) announced funding to support Regional Defence and Security Cluster (RDSC) operations, including in the North-East. In conjunction with UKDI's national programmes, the expanding RDSC network enables innovation to be identified, developed, and accelerated across the whole of the UK.