Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to his Department's press release entitled UK unveils new undersea warfare technology to counter threat from Russia, published on 8 December 2025, whether a contract has been placed for the Herne submarine since 5 July 2024.

No contract or orders have been placed for the Herne large diameter uncrewed underwater vessel. Procurement of such platforms would be conducted in accordance with UK commercial law, through a fair competition.

The first formal element of the tendering process for Atlantic NET, commenced in September 2025 and was completed in January 2026. This involved the assessment of 26 compliant industry proposed solutions for ‘Persistent ASW Sense (ISR) as a Service’ and followed on from six months of regular two-way industry engagement with approximately 327 companies in the supplier base. These are largely UK based, or have UK elements in their proposals.