Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask His Majesty's Government, with reference to the speech by the First Sea Lord on 8 December, what steps they are taking to prevent the loss of the naval control of the Atlantic to Russia.

The Ministry of Defence has announced Atlantic Bastion – the Royal Navy's programme to create an advanced hybrid naval force to secure the North Atlantic for the UK and NATO against the persistent and growing threat posed by Russia.

Atlantic Bastion will see ships, submarines, aircraft and unmanned vessels connected through AI-powered acoustic detection technology and integrated into a digital targeting web. Atlantic Bastion will enable the Armed Forces to find, track and, if required, act against adversaries with unprecedented effectiveness across vast areas of ocean. It represents a generational shift in capability and dominance in the North Atlantic.