Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether his Department is taking steps to integrate unmanned surface vehicles into Royal Navy operations.

Yes, the Royal Navy (RN) is transitioning to uncrewed autonomous systems for mine counter measures and has already introduced the first tranche of capabilities into service. For a number of years, the RN has also operated autonomous wave gliders to enhance the RN’s ability to collect oceanographic data. The Strategic Defence Review announced the Atlantic Bastion transformation programme, which should see the introduction of uncrewed surface vessels to support a wide variety of tasks for the Royal Navy.