Written questions by Snowden.

What assessment he has made of the potential impact of the Swedish fighter jet agreement on the future of the Global Combat Air Programme.

Awaiting answer.

What recent assessment he has made of the adequacy of the readiness levels of the armed forces.

Awaiting answer.

If he will make an assessment of the potential impact of the Swedish fighter jet deal on defence jobs in (i) the UK and (ii) Lancashire.

Awaiting answer.

With reference to his Department's press release entitled Government backing future British defence unicorns published on 19 May 2026, what steps he is taking to ensure fair competition between established firms

Awaiting answer.

For what reasons the Defence Investment Plan has not yet been published.

Awaiting answer.

Whether former reservists subject to recall under the Armed Forces Bill will apply retrospectively to Reservists who served before the bill passed.

Awaiting answer.

If he will provide an estimate as to when the Medical Navy Persistent Operational Deployment System (NavyPODS) will be available for use by the Royal Navy.

Awaiting answer.

How much funding has been allocated to the Defence Digital and Cyber Bursary scheme since its inception; and what proportion of that funding has been spent to date.

To date, £2 million has been allocated to this scheme, of which £1.2 million has already been spent. A further £0.8 million is scheduled to be released within the next two weeks to support the latest intake.

How many students have enrolled in the Defence Digital and Cyber Bursary scheme in each academic year since it was launched; and how many of those students are based in Lancashire.

285 new students have enrolled in the latest cohort, taking the total number of students to 500. This follows an announcement in October 2025, where the Ministry of Defence expanded the scheme to 500 fully funded places for college-age students across Lancashire. This information is provided below: CohortAcademic YearIntakeStatusCohort 12024-25100GraduatedCohort 22025-26115Year 13 studentsCohort 32025-26285Year 12 students and latest cohort All students are based in Lancashire, through partnerships with Digital Skills for Defence (DS4D) and the Lancashire Skills and Employment Hub.

What proportion of the £400 million allocated to UK Defence Innovation in 2025-26 will be available to firms outside the designated factory locations, including in the North West.

UK Defence Innovation (UKDI) will support high-tech businesses across the UK, including the North west. The ringfenced budget of £400 million for 2025-26 will focus on novel technologies, including dual-use systems. UKDI will invest in structures to support business growth and to increase investment into SMEs, start-ups, and non-traditional defence suppliers to support a diverse and agile supply chain across the UK.

With reference to paragraph 2.6 of the report entitled The UK’s F-35 capability, HC 989, published by the National Audit Office on 11 July 2025, what steps are being taken to address personnel shortfalls within the F‑35 programme.

We inherited a retention and recruitment crisis from the last Government and are determined to fix it. The Ministry of Defence (MOD) has introduced a programme of surging recruitment for the RAF so that it returns to workforce balance across every specialisation. This activity includes a significant focus on the engineer profession where, over the last two years, the RAF has offered joining bonuses and increased the capacity of Technical Training Schools to enable more recruits to be trained. To improve retention, the RAF has implemented a Financial Retention Incentive for engineers. The recruitment and retention of personnel remains one of the top two priorities for the Chief of the Defence Staff.

With reference to paragraph 22 of the report entitled The UK’s F-35 capability, HC 989, published by the National Audit Office on 11 July 2025, if he will set out the updated estimate of the whole‑life cost of the (a) equipment, (b) personnel, (c) infrastructure, (d) fuel, (e) ammunition and (f) total cost of the F‑35 programme.

The F-35 programme reports costs to the Departments and National Infrastructure and Service Transformation Authority (NISTA) policy as a Government Major Projects Portfolio (GMPP). My Department will address the Public Accounts Committee recommendations in the formal Government response to the Committee in due course.

When the Armed Forces Commissioner is expected to be appointed; and when the Commissioner's office is expected to be fully operational.

We are in the process of recruiting an Armed Forces Commissioner . It is expected that a Commissioner will be appointed in early 2026, with plans for their office to be fully operational in April 2026. The role is subject to scrutiny in accordance with the principles of the Governance Code on Public Appointments and overseen by the Office of the Commissioner for Public Appointments. We remain committed to appointing the right person for this critical role, which is central to delivering a trusted and effective service for our people.

What assessment he has made of the potential impact of the US government shutdown on joint UK–US defence (a) projects and (b) research collaboration.

There has been no impact on our defence projects or research collaboration where we have continued to engage with those essential US staff who continued to work during the shutdown.

What assessment he has made of the potential impact of the use of GPS-enabled smart watches on the security of UK defence sites.

The Ministry of Defence has strict rules governing where smart devices, including GPS-enabled smart watches, can and cannot be used. We do not comment on the detail of those measures.

If he will establish a judge-led inquiry into the RAF Chinook ZD576 crash on the Mull of Kintyre on 2 June 1994.

The Mull of Kintyre crash was a tragic accident and our thoughts and sympathies remain with the families, friends and colleagues of all those who died. The Department has received a formal claim for a Judicial Review of our decision to reject the demand for a Judge-led inquiry into the circumstances of the crash from the Chinook Justice Campaign. We are committed to engaging fully with this process, and you will understand that I am unable to provide further comment while this work is ongoing.

What funding his Department has allocated to the research and development of non-lethal and lawful counter-drone technologies in the last five years.

A key part of the SDR's vision for UK defence is innovation driven by lessons from Ukraine - harnessing counter drone technology, data, and digital warfare to make our Armed Forces stronger and safer. This Government is investing an additional £2 billion this Parliament into autonomous systems, including countering drones. Research and Development has been at the core of this rapid transformation, this has been an engine for growth and is happening all across industry, including in our support to Ukraine. This innovation and the funding associated with it, has involved many segments of the Ministry of Defence including the Defence and Security Accelerator, Defence Science and Technology Laboratory and frontline capability development programmes. However, funding information across a five-year period is not held centrally and could only be provided at disproportionate cost.

What discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for the Home Department on the potential deployment of military counter-unmanned aerial vehicle capabilities for civil purposes.

The UK employs a broad approach to deterring and defeating air and missile threats, including those from Uncrewed Air Systems (UAS or drones). The Ministry of Defence (MOD) works closely with the Home Office on Homeland C-UAS issues. While domestic peacetime C-UAS is a Home Office lead, the MOD maintains C-UAS systems for military purposes. Military Aid to the Civil Authorities (MACA) protocols provide a recognised framework to enable the provision of Defence capabilities to support civilian authorities in certain circumstances.

What recent discussions he has had with (a) private and (b) allied training providers on increasing pilot training capacity.

The Royal Air Force (RAF) Directorate of Flying Training continues to engage on a regular basis with private and allied training providers regarding pilot training capacity. There have been recent discussions with private training providers, in line with the Strategic Defence Review 2025, recommendation 48d. These discussions have been focused on assessing the cost-effectiveness and viability of private training providers for elements of multi-engine pilot training to meet a short-term increase in front-line demand for multi-engine pilots due to the introduction of new Intelligence, Surveillance, Target Acquisition and Reconnaissance (ISTAR) platforms within the RAF. For allied training providers, military engagement is conducted through the NATO Flight Training Europe (NFTE) high visibility project, as well as Air Staff talks with strategic partner nations, Due to the commercial tender process and pending defence engagement technical agreements, it is not possible to disclose more specific details of discussions with specified private and allied training providers.

How many fully qualified RAF pilots are available for front-line deployment; and how many pilots would be required for full operational capability.

I am withholding the information requested as its disclosure would, or would be likely to prejudice the capability, effectiveness or security of the Armed Forces.