Every parliamentary written question tabled by Ben Obese-Jecty this session, with the full answer and department. Back to the MP page.
Showing 201–220 of 2,243 · Ministry of Defence
With reference to his press conference of 9 April 2026, what is the £100m allocated to the Poseidon P-8 fleet for.
This allocation refers to a two-year contract extension awarded to Boeing Defence UK to provide training and support services to the RAF’s Poseidon P-8 fleet. This will run to March 2028 and covers aircraft support, maintenance, supply chain management, and training for the Poseidon fleet based at RAF Lossiemouth in Moray.
What progress he has made in meeting the NATO Industrial Capacity Expansion Pledge.
The NATO Industrial Capacity Expansion Pledge, agreed by Allies at the Washington Summit in July 2024, commits NATO to strengthening defence industrial capacity and resilience across the Alliance. The UK is actively supporting delivery of the Pledge through close engagement with NATO and Allies, including through NATO’s Defence Production Action Plan (DPAP), which provides the practical framework for implementing the commitments. This includes work to aggregate demand, strengthen defence‑critical supply chains, support multinational procurement, and improve NATO–industry engagement. The UK’s Defence Industrial Strategy aligns UK industrial activity with NATO priorities and supports delivery of the Pledge by increasing production capacity, improving resilience, and encouraging long‑term investment in the defence industrial base.
If he will make an assessment of the potential impact of the adoption of the EREBUS system on the speed of defensive aid suite integration.
EREBUS is a UK‑developed flight test capability enabling realistic testing of Defensive Aid Systems before installation on frontline aircraft. Developed by Dstl with UK Industry, it reduces integration risk and cost, supports rapid upgrades, strengthens international collaboration, and helps maintain world‑leading air‑protection capabilities. EREBUS has the potential to significantly accelerate the adoption of Defensive Aid Suites by de‑risking system integration and performance at every stage of the development cycle.
What progress the Defence Science and Technology Laboratory has made in developing AI triage decision-making in battlefield military medicine in conjunction with the US Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency.
As reported in the press, experts from the Defence Science and Technology Laboratory (Dstl) are collaborating with the US Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) using hardware and methodologies developed under DARPA's In the Moment (ITM) fundamental research programme. AI systems do not naturally align with humans and the ITM programme aims to develop technologies to enable such alignment. Battlefield medical triage is a research use case within this wider programme. In October 2025 Scientists from Dstl and their US counterparts at DARPA ran pioneering UK trials to understand whether medical staff would trust and delegate triage decisions to AI systems aligned with their own priorities.The trials showed that having an aligned AI increased the likelihood of delegation, potentially allowing triage to be carried out more quickly and ultimately helping medical staff treat more casualties with the integration of trusted AI. Further trials will take place later this year.
Pursuant to the Answer of 9 June 2025 to Question 56964 on F-35 Aircraft: Procurement, on what dates did the Royal Air Force receive the remaining F-35B Lightning II aircraft.
On 13 March 2026, the UK accepted its 48th F-35B aircraft.
With reference to his Department's announcement entitled UK and France sign agreement to develop next-generation air-to-air missile, published on 1 April 2026, by what date when will he establish the new joint Complex Weapons Portfolio Office.
As set out in the Department's announcement of 1 April 2026, the United Kingdom and France have agreed to establish a joint Complex Weapons Portfolio Office. Work is now actively underway with the French Government to establish the office and agree a commissioning date at the earliest opportunity.
What assessment has he made of the potential impact of the adoption of the (a) 6.02mm x 41mm round and (b) AK22 rifle in Russian military service on British Army body armour.
The Ministry of Defence routinely assesses emerging and evolving small‑arms threats as part of its ongoing responsibility to protect Service personnel. The specific threats against which UK body armour is designed to provide protection are held at a higher security classification and therefore it would be inappropriate for me to provide specific details. However, I can confirm that UK body armour requirements are kept under constant review to ensure they continue to reflect the most dangerous and prevalent threats our personnel are likely to face while conducting their duties.
What is the full scope of the the Hypersonic Technologies and Capability Development Framework.
The Hypersonic Technologies and Capability Development Framework (HTCDF) is a bespoke £1b billion Commercial Agile Route to Market to facilitate a spiralled approach to technology development through to a sovereign capability.The framework covers a broad range of scope required to develop a Hypersonic Strike Capability, crucially allowing contracting at all levels of Technology Readiness. Lots include: Design and Integration, Modelling, Simulation and Test and Evaluation, Airframe and Power Generation, Low TRL / Specialists, Lethal Package, Propulsion, Onboard Computing and Seekers with significant supplier capability represented in each Lot.
What progress he has made on developing co-operation between the UK and France under the 2025 Northwood Declaration.
I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 27 February 2026 to Question 113496 to the hon. Member for The Wrekin (Mr Pritchard).
With reference to his Department's press release entitled UK and Belgium sign multi-million pound Mission Data partnership, published on 31 March 2026, by what date does he plan to establish a sovereign Joint Electromagnetic Warfare Support Centre in Belgium.
Further to the Department’s press release entitled “UK and Belgium sign multi‑million pound Mission Data partnership”, published on 31 March 2026, the Programme is expected to deliver a fully functional and sustainably supported Belgian Joint Electromagnetic Warfare Support Centre by the end of 2028.
What assessment has he made of the potential impact of the Russian Bagulnik-82 120mm mortar UGV as a potential threat to British forces in Estonia and Ukraine.
The Ministry of Defence continues to work closely with the Government of Ukraine on the sharing of knowledge and insights to ensure that our support meets Ukraine's priority requirements and that the Armed Forces of Ukraine is responding effectively to the evolving threat, including from drones and energy weapons.Due to operational security, we do not comment on specific capabilities.
Pursuant to the Answer of 6 March 2025 to Question 36208 on USA: Military Alliances, what discussions he has held with his US counterparts on the ongoing commitment of the United States to the European Reassurance Initiative.
The Defence Secretary speaks with his US counterpart regularly on a range of topics to ensure coherence and alignment between our two nations. However, they have not recently discussed the US’ European Reassurance Initiative.
With reference to his Department's joint press notice entitled Shadow fleet set to be interdicted in UK waters in latest blow to Russia, published on 25 March 2026, how many Russian shadow fleet vessels under UK sanctions and transiting UK waters have been assessed for boarding since the US operation to seize tanker Bella 1.
We will not go into specifics on our assessments as this could compromise our ability to successfully take action against these ships, only benefitting our adversaries.
What the scope is of the Royal Navy’s Future Maritime Data Gathering programme.
The Future Maritime Data Gathering (FMDG) programme is exploring a range of technologies, including uncrewed and autonomous systems, advanced sensors, and improved data‑processing tools.
By what date will he establish the joint road map with France to develop the successor to the Meteor missile.
The United Kingdom and France have agreed to undertake a joint study for the development of next‑generation air‑to‑air weapon concepts. The content and precise timing for any future roadmap to replace Meteor will be informed by the outcomes of this analysis.
With reference to his Department's press release entitled UK and Belgium sign multi-million pound Mission Data partnership, published on 31 March 2026, what is the total value of Belgian investment over five years.
The maximum financial contribution for Belgium is €150 million. This is inclusive of VAT and other taxes, customs duties and similar charges, and accounts for inflation.
What progress he has made in integrating the Aster 30 missile into the Mk41 Vertical Launching System (VLS).
I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to Question 123067, tabled on 23 March 2026:https://questions-statements.parliament.uk/written-questions/detail/2026-03-23/123067
What steps did he take to help ensure the mapping of the location of Olenya Guba released by his Department on 9 April 2026 accurately disclosed the location of the submarine base of the Main Directorate of Deep-Sea Research.
The map originally published on 9 April did not accurately reflect the location of Oleyna Guba. The difference in location arose during the reformatting of the map for publication and did not affect the versions used internally by the Department.
What assessment he has of the potential threat posed to British-flagged ships transiting the Strait of Hormuz by the CM-302 anti-ship missile supplied to Iran by China.
The Ministry of Defence continues to work closely with the Government of Ukraine on the sharing of knowledge and insights to ensure that our support meets Ukraine's priority requirements and that the Armed Forces of Ukraine is responding effectively to the evolving threat, including from drones and energy weapons.Due to operational security, we do not comment on specific capabilities.
If he will set out the level of combat search and rescue capability of the Royal Marines Joint Personnel Recovery.
The Ministry of Defence does not routinely comment on combat search and rescue capabilities for reasons of operational security.