Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what assessment his Department has made of the adequacy of the performance of the Sea Ceptor system during recent naval (a) exercises and (b) deployments.

The SEA CEPTOR system delivers Local Air Defence capability against complex air threats both now and into the future. SEA CEPTOR is already in service on the Type 23 frigates and will be installed on the Type 26 and 31 classes. All six Type 45 destroyers are adding the SEA CEPTOR system to their arsenal.

The Ministry of Defence does not comment on effectiveness of weapon systems but I can reassure the hon. Member that we would not install weapon systems on our Royal Navy ships if they were not effective.