Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what assessment he has made of the potential implications for his Department's policies of the lessons from the Russia-Ukraine war on the use of unmanned systems in warfare; and what steps his Department is taking to (a) incorporate lessons from Ukrainian battlefield use of drones into UK doctrine and (b) improve the UK’s defensive capabilities against hostile drone activity.

The UK’s Armed Forces are learning much from the war in Ukraine, particularly the need for a much faster ‘learn and adapt’ cycle to accelerate developments in our capabilities, doctrine, and tactics. More broadly, the Strategic Defence Review considered all aspects of Defence, including the capabilities required by the UK to meet the challenges, threats, and opportunities of the twenty-first century. The Strategic Defence Review also highlighted the importance of autonomous systems both within the UK’s Integrated Force and the threats they pose to that force. Decisions on our equipment requirements, including artificial intelligence and autonomous systems, will be set out in the forthcoming Defence Investment Plan.