Asked by: Suella Braverman (Reform UK - Fareham and Waterlooville)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether his Department has contingency plans in place to respond to mass drone incursions, in the context of drone incursions in Ukraine and Poland.
Answered by Al Carns - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for Veterans)
The UK is committed to defending every inch of NATO territory, including our contribution of Typhoon jets to defend Polish airspace as part of NATO’s Eastern Sentry. NATO is more united than ever as we continue to work closely to support Ukraine and defend the alliance’s territory. The Defence Secretary recently confirmed that we will be extending our contribution to Eastern Sentry until the end of 2025. Over the past 18 months, the RAF has also conducted routine deployments of Typhoons to both Poland and Romania to protect NATO airspace.
In the UK, RAF fighter jets at RAF Coningsby and RAF Lossiemouth are held at continuous high readiness 24/7, 365 days a year, to protect UK sovereign airspace. They routinely launch to intercept unidentified aircraft flying in the UK’s area of interest as part of NATO’s air policing mission.
Asked by: Ben Obese-Jecty (Conservative - Huntingdon)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the scope is of the UK's commitment to the NATO Eastern Sentry programme.
Answered by Al Carns - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for Veterans)
The UK committed early to Eastern Sentry, deploying RAF Typhoon fighter jets and Voyager air-to-air refuelling aircraft to conduct air defence missions over Poland. This deployment involves hundreds of UK personnel.
In a demonstration of the UK’s ongoing and steadfast support for NATO’s collective defence, the Defence Secretary has confirmed that the UK’s contribution to Eastern Sentry will continue until at least the end of 2025, ensuring the security of NATO territory and deterring further aggression.
Asked by: Angus MacDonald (Liberal Democrat - Inverness, Skye and West Ross-shire)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what steps he is taking to strengthen the UK’s (a) military and (b) defence cooperation with Poland.
Answered by Al Carns - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for Veterans)
The United Kingdom greatly values Poland as a steadfast ally and a leader on NATO’s eastern flank. Our nations share a proud history of standing together in defence of freedom, and today we face new and complex challenges that demand the same unity of purpose. Our new Defence and Security Treaty, and supporting Bilateral Defence Plan, will set a clear strategic direction for the next 15 years and beyond. We will not only reinforce our shared commitment to collective security, but also deepen industrial cooperation, enhance interoperability, and drive innovation. Together, we will ensure that our forces can act together with speed and confidence to deter and defeat emerging threats, safeguard our people and uphold European security.
Asked by: Layla Moran (Liberal Democrat - Oxford West and Abingdon)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether he has had recent discussions with his European allies on the potential merits of jointly developing (a) aircraft and (b) other defence platforms as an alternative to reliance on US procurement.
Answered by Luke Pollard - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
The Secretary of State has had recent discussions with both US and European Allies regarding joint development and procurement of defence capabilities. The Strategic Defence Review (SDR) sets out our need for a NATO First approach and enhanced cooperation. To this end, the Secretary of State’s recent discussions with the US, the UK’s most important bilateral alliance, have explored how the UK can maximise its industrial and technological collaboration to strengthen collective security and prosperity beyond already unprecedented UK-US industrial and nuclear cooperation. To the same end, the Secretary of State’s recent discussions with European Allies, including through the E5 format, consisting of the UK, France, Germany, Poland and Italy, represent a strong collaboration within the Alliance to develop a collective industrial base and deliver NATO critical warfighting capabilities. These capabilities include Complex Weapons with France, Land systems with Germany, and the Global Combat Air Programme which includes Italy.
Asked by: Angus MacDonald (Liberal Democrat - Inverness, Skye and West Ross-shire)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps her Department is taking through the UN to respond to reports of Russian airspace violations over NATO member states.
Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Recent incursions into Poland, Romania and Estonia were reckless violations of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) airspace. NATO responded to the incidents immediately and decisively, shooting down drones over its airspace for the first time. This was combined with a strong political response at NATO - with two Article 4 discussions - as well as at the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) and UN. On 12 September, the UK condemned Russia's violations of NATO airspace at a UN Security Council session following the Poland incursions, noting that its actions violated the most basic principles of the UN Charter. Then on 22 September, following the air incursions into Estonia, the Foreign Secretary again underlined to the UN Security Council that Russia's actions are a threat to the values and principles that underpin the UN. We will continue working with our Allies at NATO, as well as through the OSCE and UN, to stress in the clearest terms that Russian recklessness is completely unacceptable, and that NATO is ready and able to defend its territory.
Asked by: Ben Obese-Jecty (Conservative - Huntingdon)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to page 109 of the Strategic Defence Review 2025, what (a) units and (b) formations comprise the UK contribution to the Advanced Reaction force.
Answered by Al Carns - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for Veterans)
Advanced Forces are forces already in place around the world that provide positional advantage. These include the UK’s contribution to Forward Land Forces in Estonia and Poland, Land Special Operations Forces deployed as part of our global network, the Brunei Task Force, and Cyprus Resident Battalions.
Reaction Forces are designed for speed, to react quickly to crisis. These include Defence’s Global Response Force, 16 Air Assault Brigade, and the NATO Allied Reaction Force (Land).
Asked by: Ben Obese-Jecty (Conservative - Huntingdon)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to page 34 of the National Security Strategy 2025, CP 1338, published on 24 June 2025, what the scope is of the agreement with Poland on reinforcing NATO’s eastern flank.
Answered by Al Carns - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for Veterans)
The UK is committed to deepening its defence collaboration with Poland through a new UK-Poland Defence and Security Treaty and Bilateral Defence Plan. These agreements will strengthen our partnership in the areas of military cooperation including joint exercising and training, broaden our military capability development and industrial cooperation, support Ukraine, and bolster our role in NATO.
Asked by: Ben Obese-Jecty (Conservative - Huntingdon)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to recommendation 22 of the Strategic Defence Review 2025, with which NATO allies he is seeking to strengthen bilateral relations.
Answered by Al Carns - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for Veterans)
The UK is committed to deepening our relationship with a broad range of Allies. Pages 73-75 as well as 82 - 84 of the Strategic Defence Review provide a clear list of allies with which the UK should develop closer ties. These are: the USA, France, Germany, Italy, Turkey, Poland Estonia, Norway, Canada, Sweden, Finland, Denmark, Iceland, Latvia, Lithunua, The Netherlands, Romania, and Greece. This is not exhaustive; the Ministry of Defence maintains close links with all Allies in NATO.
Asked by: Ben Obese-Jecty (Conservative - Huntingdon)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what recent estimate he has made of when the export of Type 31 Arrowhead frigates to Poland will be completed.
Answered by Luke Pollard - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
The Polish MIECZNIK frigate programme is constructing three Arrowhead-variant frigates under licence from Babcock in Poland. This is a Polish programme and it would be inappropriate for His Majesty's Government to comment on the progress of another nation's procurement schedule.
Asked by: Ben Obese-Jecty (Conservative - Huntingdon)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether he has made an assessment of the potential merits of increasing levels of defence exports to Poland to support its East Shield programme.
Answered by Luke Pollard - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
The UK is committed to supporting Poland to develop its border security in the face of Russian aggression and has considered how to support Poland's East Shield programme in light of this. We continue to work with UK industry to consider and review export opportunities presented by this programme, including ways of increasing prosperity across the UK.