Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what progress he has made on providing a clear demand signal to the UK’s sovereign complex weapons industrial base.

The UK Ministry of Defence (MOD) has prioritised long term strategic relationships with our UK sovereign complex weapons industrial base. The MOD has recently signed the PMA2 with MBDA, through which weapon systems design, development, production, and support will be conducted. It presents a significant opportunity to counter current and future threats, providing military capability choice to the UK and Europe. Renewing this partnership for a further 10 years means we can deliver battle-winning equipment to our Armed Forces, while securing thousands of UK jobs and delivering significant savings to the taxpayer. It is an excellent example of the value and importance of long-term strategic collaboration with our industry partners.

The MOD is exploring further opportunities for strategic supplier partnerships across the UK Complex Weapons industrial base.

The MOD are awaiting the outcome to the Str prior to committing to future demands at this point.