Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to his Department's press release entitled UK drone transformation to strengthen Armed Forces backed by more than £5 billion, published on 29 June 2026, whether the £5 billion to be spent on drones over the next four years is in addition to the £4 billion to be spent on autonomous systems announced by his Department on 2 June 2025.

This government has increased military drone and autonomous system spending as part of the £298 billion Defence Investment Plan.

The Defence Investment Plan allocated over £5 billion to military drone and autonomous systems, increasing spending from £4 billion to £5 billion over the next four years. This will cover programmes across the Maritime, Land, and Air domains to support the transformation of our Armed Forces, and includes a multitude of capabilities, ranging from the Hybrid Naval Fleet to One-Way Attack Drones.