Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to page 56 of the Defence in a competitive age Command Paper, CP411, how many more UK weapons will be integrated onto the Lightning II aircraft; and which regions in the UK will benefit from that decision.

Alongside modifications to the fielded UK Paveway IV precision surface attack weapon, the current Programme of Record will deliver two new UK Weapons onto UK Lightning aircraft. These are the MBDA Meteor Beyond Visual Range Air to Air missile and the SPEAR Capability 3 precision surface attack missile. MBDA state that the Integration of these weapons will benefit their sites in Bolton, Bristol and Stevenage.

Future UK weapons, such as SPEAR Capability 5, will be considered for integration as part of the spiral development of UK Lightning to meet future threats, exploit multi-domain integration and expand utility.