Written questions by Obese-Jecty.

With reference to page 90 of the Strategic Defence Review 2025, when plans for home defence were last fully updated.

The Ministry of Defence routinely plans against a range of potential threats to ensure the UK remains prepared to respond swiftly and effectively to any threat, including an armed attack on the UK. While we keep these plans under regular review, we are taking the recommendations of the Strategic Defence Review forward, working closely with the Cabinet Office-led Home Defence Programme.

With reference to page 43 of the National Security Strategy 2025, published in June 2025, CP 1338, which projects are in scope of the £4 billion funding for autonomous systems.

A wide breadth of autonomous systems are under consideration for autonomous funding as described in the National Security Strategy and will be subject to prioritisation to ensure optimum operational benefit. The projects to be included within the £4 billion funding for autonomous systems will form part of the Defence Investment Plan in Autumn 2025.

With reference to recommendation 37 of the Strategic Defence Review 2025, published on 8 July 2025, what progress he has made in developing an autonomous air dominance system capable of integrating with (a) directed energy weapons and (b) connectivity with integrated air and missile defence system assets.

Integrated Air and Missile Defence investments will be prioritised appropriately against the threat as part of the future Integrated Force. Work to deliver the Strategic Defence Review recommendations, including on homeland Integrated Air and Missile Defence, will be set out in the Defence Investment Plan to be published this year.

With reference to page 78 of the Strategic Defence Review 2025, who the UK’s regional partners are in the South China Sea.

The UK's regional partners listed in the Strategic Defence Review include Singapore, Malaysia, the Philippines, and Indonesia. The UK also has a long-standing partnership with Brunei, where we have recently renewed our agreement to maintain the Garison, which is home to a battalion from the Royal Gurkha Regiment. Alongside New Zealand and Australia, Singapore and Malaysia, the UK is a member of the Five Power Defence Arrangements, which promotes cooperation and interoperability in the region. The UK also regularly collaborate with our remaining Five Eyes partners Canada and the United States.

With reference to page 114 of the Strategic Defence Review 2025, published on 8 July 2025, when sixth-generation aircraft will replace (a) Typhoon and (b) F-35.

With regard to Typhoon out of service dates I refer the hon. Member to the response by my hon. Friend the Minister of State for Defence Procurement and Industry on 1 September 2025 to Question 69517. The F35 aircraft will remain a cornerstone of our CA capabilities out to the 2060s. The UK’s sixth generation Combat Air Capabilities will be delivered by the Global Combat Aircraft, alongside uncrewed platforms and the current generation of aircraft.

With reference to page 117 of the Strategic Defence Review, published on 2 June 2025, what progress he has made on helping to shape the UK space market to support exports to (a) Europe, (b) Asia and (c) the Middle East.

The Ministry of Defence is proactively supporting the UK space industry to access export opportunities. Since June 2025, in conjunction with other Departments, we have supported UK space sector companies to attend trade missions and export-focused events in Australia, Japan, Korea and Taiwan, and will support events in Germany and France before the end of 2025.This work compliments our significant investment in defence space technologies and satellite communications, collaboration with UK industry and international partners, and participation in European Space Agency programmes; all of which contribute to supporting exports.

With reference to page 78 of the Strategic Defence Review 2025, how much funding the UK provides to the Five Power Defence Arrangements.

The UK provided £240,000 in financial year (FY) 2023-24 and £266,000 in the FY 2024-25.

With reference to the Strategic Defence Review, published on 2 June 2025, from which date the Integrated Force Model will be fully operational.

The Military Strategic Headquarters (MSHQ) is the central command hub for the UK Armed Forces, led by the Chief of the Defence Staff (CDS). The MSHQ has been operational since April 2025, bringing together military strategy, operations, and force development in one integrated structure. The Integrated Force Model, as per the Strategic Defence Review, has four elements: a single force design; a common set of foundational enablers; digital enablement at its core; and collaboration with other government departments in real time. All these elements are subject to ongoing work through the Defence Investment Plan which will provide the framework through which the Ministry of Defence is modernised.

What recent progress he has made in developing an integrated layered air defence system as part of the Land Ground Based Air Defence programme.

Integrated Air and Missile Defence investments will be prioritised appropriately against the threat as part of the future Integrated Force. Work to deliver the Strategic Defence Review recommendations, including on homeland Integrated Air and Missile Defence, will be set out in the Defence Investment Plan to be published this year.

With reference to recommendation 29 of the Strategic Defence Review 2025, by when he plans to create an always on munitions production capacity.

The SDR committed to invest £1.5bn in an 'always on' pipeline for munitions and to build at least 6 new energetics and munitions factories in the UK this parliament. The Ministry of Defence is currently developing a plan to deliver this commitment alongside our wider Defence Industrial Strategy, delivering long-term investment to boost UK growth and generating skilled UK jobs and export opportunities. The MOD is carefully considering arrangements for 'always on' and we have announced that at least 13 sites across the UK have been identified as potential energetics and munitions factories. We are inviting industry to submit proposals to meet the government’s requirements for energetics production.

With reference to recommendation 33 of the Strategic Defence Review 2025, published on 8 July 2025, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of amending the Single Source Contract Regulations.

In accordance with recommendation 33 of the Strategic Defence Review a comprehensive review of the Single Source Contract Regulations has been commissioned. The initial consultation will run from October 2025 through to January 2026 with recommendations drafted and approved by 31 March 2026.

With reference to page 109 of the Strategic Defence Review 2025, what level of readiness the UK contribution to the Strategic Reserve Corps is held at.

NATO requires the Strategic Reserve Corps (SRC) to be held at graduated levels of readiness to meet the requirements of the Defence and Deterrence of the Euro Atlantic family of plans. The UK holds the SRC at readiness in line with this and communicates its specific readiness levels with NATO.

What recent progress he has made on implementing the next generation fixed communication network.

The next generation fixed communication network programme has made good progress towards delivering its outcomes. Acceleration of programme benefits is now underway with opportunities being taken to expedite the closure of the legacy BT Network, and associated DFTS Contract. This will incrementally deliver financial savings to the department, culminating in a significant cost reduction for Defence. Concurrently the delivery of new support contracts that will enable transition to the future state are in development. This will enable detailed planning to commence with Fujitsu for the transition to modern network support arrangements. Demonstratable progress has also been made through the development and implementation of a modern technical architecture solution and supporting operational model design that will transform how network services are procured and managed into the future.

What the role of the jHub is within Strategic Command.

JHub delivers numerous innovation workstreams in support of operations to users across Cyber and Specialist Operations Command (formerly UK Strategic Command) and works closely with the new UK Defence Innovation organisation. These innovation projects spearhead the rapid adoption of new technologies, processes, and ideas which accelerate and reduce risk within the force development cycle and deliver valuable capabilities directly into the hands of the Warfighter.

With reference to page 105 of the Strategic Defence Review 2025, updated on 8 July 2025, what his planned timeframe is for changing the Royal Navy’s personnel balance between (a) regulars and (b) reservists.

The outputs of the Strategic Defence Review including the recommendation to increase the size of the Active Reserve by 20% are being reviewed through the Defence Investment Plan, with future strategic workforce planning to be modelled into the Royal Navy's structures through next year's strategic planning cycle.

What his Department's projected completion date is for Project Morpheus.

Following the closure of the Evolve to Open Transition Partner Contract in 2023, the Army has sought to achieve the objectives of MORPHEUS through iterative and incremental delivery. The Army has already demonstrated some of these capability goals through Project ASGARD. The Army continues to deliver tactical communications updates and upgrades across Defence and therefore the objectives of Project MORPHEUS remain ongoing under the revised Land Domain C4 sub-portfolio.

What the full scope is of Project Theia.

Project THEIA is the British Army’s flagship digital transformation programme. Project THEIA is structured around three core objectives; transforming digital culture and behaviours, integrating information across domains and enhancing decision-making. The project has delivered major initiatives to support the digitalisation and modernisation of the British Army.

Pursuant to the Answer of 9 September 2025 to Question 74146 on Defence: Huntingdon, (a) what and (b) where those two projects are.

I hope the hon. Member will understand that I cannot place all the details in the public domain at this time, but the two projects potentially eligible for fast-track planning in Huntingdon are still under consideration. No final decision has been made with respect to the location of the projects, their design or timescales for operational readiness.

What is the out-of-service date of the Watchkeeper TUAS.

As announced by the Secretary of State in 2024, the Army’s Watchkeeper Mk 1 Uncrewed Aerial System is in the process of being retired from service with an Out of Service Date of March 2027.

What grain is the standard 5.56 x 45mm ball round used by the Armed Forces.

The standard 5.56 x 45mm ball round used by the UK Armed Forces has a bullet weight of four grams, equivalent to 62 grains.