Asked by: Stuart Anderson (Conservative - South Shropshire)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how will UK MOD protect AI IP while maximising dual-use frontier technology.
Answered by Luke Pollard - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
The UK MOD has an established policy for addressing Intellectual Property (IP), and all MOD projects are expected to set out a clear IP Strategy to ensure that IP is adequately protected, whilst securing maximum impact for our armed forces and value for money for the taxpayer.
The MOD will apply this policy to AI projects in the following ways:
Asked by: Stuart Anderson (Conservative - South Shropshire)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to page 26 of his Department's Defence Investment Plan, published on 30 June 2026, what (a) definition and (b) measures of success does his Department have for its intention to outpace threats.
Answered by Luke Pollard - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
The Defence Investment Plan outlines how Defence will outpace threats through sustained investment in warfighting readiness, the rapid introduction of new capabilities, and the integration of advanced and emerging technologies across the force. This requires a model of constant innovation and there is therefore no end state for the Integrated Force.
Evidence gathered through force testing events, as well as lessons identified from contemporary conflicts, will ensure we constantly evaluate the impact of changing technology on our force design and the threat trajectory of our adversaries. The Secretary of State will receive an annual statement detailing how the integrated force model has changed in response to ensure accountability for the continual adaptation of the Integrated Force over time.
Asked by: Stuart Anderson (Conservative - South Shropshire)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to page 45 of his department's Defence Investment Plan, published 30 June 2026, whether the £70 billion for new capabilities in the air domain from 2030 and 2035 is currently planned in the budget.
Answered by Luke Pollard - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
The Defence Investment Plan restated the government’s commitment to increase defence spending to 3% in the next Parliament, with funding and plans to be set out at the next spending review where defence will be the number one priority. Consistent with these ambitions, the Defence Investment Plan specifies the plan to invest at least £70 billion in new air domain capabilities between 2030 and 2035. These figures reflect current planning assumptions and future investment requirements, with expenditure continuing to be considered through the Ministry of Defence’s regular planning and budget-setting processes.
Asked by: Stuart Anderson (Conservative - South Shropshire)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, when he plans that the £200 million of additional investment into counter drone technology will produce a capability that is operationally ready.
Answered by Luke Pollard - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
The pace of development and technological innovation of uncrewed aerial systems means the threat is in a state of constant change. To keep pace with the rapid evolution of the threat, counter drone capability needs to focus on spiral development, flexibility and modularity. The additional investment into counter drone technology will build on capability already in use and operationally proven and will ensure our Armed Forces are equipped with capability that keeps pace with the rapid evolution of the threat. We do not release details of in service dates for individual capabilities and protection areas where it would compromise operational security.
Asked by: Stuart Anderson (Conservative - South Shropshire)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to page 42 of his department's Defence Investment Plan, published 30 June 2026, whether the £36 billion planned to be invested in the land domain between 2030 and 2035 is in the current budget.
Answered by Luke Pollard - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
The £36 billion of planned investment in the land domain between 2030 and 2035 reflects the Department's current planning assumptions for the period beyond the present Spending Review settlement.
Detailing funding for investments beyond 2029-30 will be set out as part of future Spending Reviews and subsequent budget-setting processes in the usual way.
Asked by: Stuart Anderson (Conservative - South Shropshire)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to page 37 of his Department's document entitled Defence Investment plan, published 30 June 2026, if he will set out the novel funding mechanisms to increase the resilience and protection of critical underwater infrastructure.
Answered by Luke Pollard - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
As set out in the Defence Investment Plan, the Ministry of Defence will invest £330 million over the next four years in critical underwater infrastructure protection, including enhanced capabilities for RFA PROTEUS. We will also explore opportunities to partner with industry and investors on commercially provided solutions to increase the resilience and protection of associated capabilities. The timelines associated with programme delivery remain will be determined as specific capability solutions are down selected.
Asked by: Stuart Anderson (Conservative - South Shropshire)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to page 41 of his Department's Defence Investment Plan, published 30 June 2026, what are the next generation of uncrewed aerial systems to replace legacy Watchkeeper drones.
Answered by Luke Pollard - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
Project CORVUS aims to provide a replacement to the Army’s Watchkeeper Uncrewed Aerial System, which is being retired from service with an Out of Service Date of March 2027.
Project CORVUS is subject to ongoing competition, and it would therefore be inappropriate to provide further detail at this stage.
Asked by: Stuart Anderson (Conservative - South Shropshire)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, which uncrewed systems use AI-enabled swarms.
Answered by Luke Pollard - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
While Defence is actively researching, developing and experimenting with autonomous and collaborative behaviours, including swarming concepts, these activities remain in the assessment, experimentation and capability development phases and have not yet matured to a level suitable for operational service.
Asked by: Stuart Anderson (Conservative - South Shropshire)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to page 36 of his Department's Defence investment Plan, published on 30 June 2026, what is his planned timetable for updating Parliament on the outcome of the review of future plans of Offshore Patrol Vessels.
Answered by Luke Pollard - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
The Royal Navy constantly reviews out-of-service dates to achieve maximum availability of its platforms for operational tasking. For operational security reasons, the Royal Navy does not release the out-of-service dates of individual platforms. The Class out-of-service date for OPV Batch 1 is 2028.
Following the Defence Investment Plan, which allocates £200 million to Offshore Patrol Vessels, future OPV deployment plans will be reviewed to ensure they remain aligned with Defence priorities.
Asked by: Stuart Anderson (Conservative - South Shropshire)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what percentage of the British Army’s regular forces are undeployable or medically downgraded.
Answered by Calvin Bailey - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for Veterans and People)
At 1 April 2026 (most recently available data) 10.5% of UK full time trade trained army personnel were graded Medically Limited Deployable (MLD). Personnel graded as MND are not fit to deploy on Operations, they may be deployable on UK based exercises and should be able to work effectively for at least 32.5 hours per week. Personnel graded MND may require continued medical care, long term medication and access to secondary care facilities.
14.3% of personnel were graded Medically Limited Deployable (MLD). Personnel with a grade of MLD are medically fit for duty with minor employment limitations. A grade of MLD requires a medical risk assessment to be carried out for deployment. The decision on that deployment will depend on the medical condition, individual function, the proposed employment, length of the deployment and the medical support available. As such, it should not be assumed that only those personnel graded Medically Fully Deployable are able to deploy.
This response presents Medical Deployability Standard (MDS) for all full-time trade trained army personnel, including Gurkhas and reservists.