Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of adapting Type 31 frigates for enhanced air defence or strike roles to support carrier operations.

The Type 31 frigate has been designed as a capable, flexible and affordable general-purpose platform that will undertake a wide range of global tasks. The Department routinely assesses the potential merits of adapting Royal Navy (RN) platforms, including Type 31, to respond to evolving operational requirements.

As with all RN platforms, options for incremental upgrades are kept under regular review. For security and operational reasons, the Ministry of Defence does not comment on detailed capability development plans in the public domain.