Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answer of 14 October 2024 to Question 7495 on Global Combat Air Programme, whether the Strategic Defence Review will consider whether the core programme will be piloted.

The Strategic Defence Review will guide future capability development priorities, to ensure the United Kingdom is secure at home and strong abroad - now and for the years to come.

The Global Combat Air Programme core aircraft is being designed to be crewed when it comes into service, but the programme sustains an important technological and industrial pathway to developing advanced uncrewed capabilities, allowing the programme to maximise the benefits of autonomy and Artificial Intelligence in a crewed aircraft as well as to explore options for uncrewed capability augmentation in the future.