Written questions by Cartlidge.

How many heavy lift drones his Department has ordered since 5 July 2024.

Due to operational security, we cannot provide details on the numbers or types of drones ordered by the Ministry of Defence.

How many 9mm rounds his Department has ordered since 5 July 2024.

I am withholding the information requested as it is operationally sensitive.

How many 7.62mm rounds his Department has ordered since 5 July 2024.

I am withholding the information requested as it is operationally sensitive.

How many Parrot Anafi USA drones has his Department ordered since 5 July 2024.

Due to operational security, we cannot provide details on the numbers or types of drones ordered by the Ministry of Defence.

How many FPV drones his Department has ordered since 5 July 2024.

Due to operational security, we cannot provide details on the numbers or types of drones ordered by the Ministry of Defence.

If he will provide a breakdown of expenditure provided to Ukraine in each financial year since February 2022.

Since 2024-25 the Government has committed to providing Ukraine with £3 billion of military support until 2030-31 or for as long as needed. The Government’s committed military support to Ukraine for each financial year is set out below. Committed Military Support (£billion) 2021-220.32022-232.52023-242.32024-253.0 A further £1.5 billion of support is being provided in 2025 as part of the Extraordinary Revenue Acceleration (ERA) initiative. This takes our total support to Ukraine for this year to £4.5 billion, which is the greatest amount of support since Putin’s full-scale invasion began. The final figures for 2024-25 have been finalised and will be published in the Departmental Annual Report and Accounts.

With reference to the Government press release entitled Major £5 billion technology investment accelerates UK defence innovation in a European first, published on 02 June 2025, what percentage of the £4 billion for autonomous systems will be spent with British defence companies.

The Strategic Defence Review recommends that an immediate priority for force transformation should be a shift towards greater use of autonomy within the UK's conventional forces. Autonomous systems will be incorporated into the Integrated Force in high numbers undersea, at sea, on land, and in the air. We will prioritise investment in UK-based defence firms, aiming to stimulate economic growth, create jobs, and enhance national security by fostering innovation and resilience within the sector. Investment opportunities with British Defence companies will be determined as part of the Defence Investment Plan.

What steps he is taking to ensure that British SMEs can participate in future procurement contracts relating to the security of UK RAF bases.

The Department will continue to utilise Defence commercial processes to deliver an appropriate and robust security solution. All Ministry of Defence (MOD) procurements must comply with specific legal obligations regarding the fair treatment of all suppliers. It is recognised that small medium enterprises seeking to work in Defence face unique challenges. However, the Department is committed to removing unnecessary barriers to participation in our supply-chain and improving the way that MOD ad its major suppliers engage and support them. Substantial additional support for defence SMEs was recently unveiled by the Government to help address these barriers. This includes tailored guidance on how to access the defence supply chain and an ambitious but achievable target that we will spend £7.5 billion with SMEs by 2028.

If he will provide a list of the total number of civil service personnel employed by the Ministry of Defence in each financial year since 1995.

The following table shows the Ministry of Defence (MOD) civil servant strength by Full Time Equivalent (FTE) and Headcount for periods from 1 April 1995 to 1 April 2025. DateFTE (Total)Headcount (Total)01/04/1995121,654123,77601/04/1996116,093118,18301/04/1997115,260117,37901/04/1998108,772110,80401/04/1999108,143110,25401/04/2000106,430108,62201/04/2001104,823107,08301/04/200295,97698,24201/04/200393,73796,00201/04/200493,61995,64701/04/200592,81294,81501/04/200688,83291,00701/04/200783,84386,28901/04/200878,26080,58901/04/200976,07278,35701/04/201075,65177,98601/04/201172,48674,78201/04/201261,62163,44501/04/201357,14858,77201/04/201455,50957,13401/04/201553,14354,74901/04/201651,89653,45501/04/201752,43054,06501/04/201852,64154,34501/04/201953,50955,32401/04/202054,66556,57901/04/202156,29158,23401/04/202256,12358,02101/04/202356,84958,77001/04/202457,87559,85901/04/202555,80257,854 These figures show MOD civil servants, including personnel in Executive Agencies and their predecessor organisations, dating back to 1995. The table includes personnel employed in the Royal Fleet Auxiliary (RFA) in support of Naval operations. These personnel are classified as civil servants for contractual purposes but exclude locally engaged civilians (LECs), who are employed under alternate terms and conditions. Please note that RFA data was not recorded in personnel numbers until 1 April 1999. RFA personnel are classified as Headcount personnel.

With reference to the press release entitled Major £5 billion technology investment accelerates UK defence innovation in a European first, published on 2 June 2025, how much of the £4 billion for autonomous systems will be spent in this financial year.

The Strategic Defence Review recommends that an immediate priority for force transformation should be a shift towards greater use of autonomy and Artificial Intelligence (AI) within the UK's conventional forces. Uncrewed and autonomous systems will be incorporated into the Integrated Force in high numbers over the next five years as part of a 'high-low' mix of capabilities whether undersea, at sea, on land, or over land. Exact numbers and investment apportioned to these systems will be determined as part of the Defence Investment Plan.

How many drones he plans to procure for the armed forces in this financial year by (a) reconnaissance, (b) logistics, (c) first-person view and (d) long-range one-way attack.

The Strategic Defence Review recommends that an immediate priority for force transformation should be a shift towards greater use of autonomy and Artificial Intelligence (AI) within the UK's conventional forces. Uncrewed and autonomous systems will be incorporated into the Integrated Force in high numbers over the next five years as part of a 'high-low' mix of capabilities whether undersea, at sea, on land, or over land. Exact numbers and investment apportioned to these systems will be determined as part of the Defence Investment Plan.

With reference to the Government press release entitled Major £5 billion technology investment accelerates UK defence innovation in a European first, published on 2 June 2025, how the £4 billion for autonomous systems will be spent in each financial year until 2028-29.

The Strategic Defence Review recommends that an immediate priority for force transformation should be a shift towards greater use of autonomy and Artificial Intelligence (AI) within the UK's conventional forces. Uncrewed and autonomous systems will be incorporated into the Integrated Force in high numbers over the next five years as part of a 'high-low' mix of capabilities whether undersea, at sea, on land, or over land. Exact numbers and investment apportioned to these systems will be determined as part of the Defence Investment Plan.

With reference to the press release entitled Major £5 billion technology investment accelerates UK defence innovation in a European first, published on 2 June 2025, whether the £4 billion to be spent on autonomous systems includes funding for procurement for Ukraine.

The Strategic Defence Review recommends that an immediate priority for force transformation should be a shift towards greater use of autonomy and Artificial Intelligence (AI) within the UK's conventional forces. Uncrewed and autonomous systems will be incorporated into the Integrated Force in high numbers over the next five years as part of a 'high-low' mix of capabilities whether undersea, at sea, on land, or over land. Exact numbers and investment apportioned to these systems will be determined as part of the Defence Investment Plan.

With reference to the Government press release entitled Major £5 billion technology investment accelerates UK defence innovation in a European first, published on 2 June 2025, what percentage of the £4 billion to be spent on drones in this parliament will be spent on (a) reconnaissance, (b) logistics, (c) FPV and (d) long-range one-way attack drones.

The Strategic Defence Review recommends that an immediate priority for force transformation should be a shift towards greater use of autonomy and Artificial Intelligence (AI) within the UK's conventional forces. Uncrewed and autonomous systems will be incorporated into the Integrated Force in high numbers over the next five years as part of a 'high-low' mix of capabilities whether undersea, at sea, on land, or over land. Exact numbers and investment apportioned to these systems will be determined as part of the Defence Investment Plan.

How many Electronic Counter Measure kits he plans to procure for the Army in this financial year.

For reasons of operational security, I am unable to provide further details relating to Electronic Counter Measures.

With reference to the Government press release entitled Major £5 billion technology investment accelerates UK defence innovation in a European first, published on 2 June 2025, how much of the £4 billion to be spent on autonomous systems in this parliament is (a) RDEL and (b) CDEL.

The Strategic Defence Review recommends that an immediate priority for force transformation should be a shift towards greater use of autonomy and Artificial Intelligence (AI) within the UK's conventional forces. Uncrewed and autonomous systems will be incorporated into the Integrated Force in high numbers over the next five years as part of a 'high-low' mix of capabilities whether undersea, at sea, on land, or over land. Exact numbers and investment apportioned to these systems will be determined as part of the Defence Investment Plan.

With reference to the press release entitled Major £5 billion technology investment accelerates UK defence innovation in a European first, published on 2 June 2025, how much of the funding for autonomous systems will be spent on drones for use by the armed forces in this financial year.

The Strategic Defence Review recommends that an immediate priority for force transformation should be a shift towards greater use of autonomy and Artificial Intelligence (AI) within the UK's conventional forces. Uncrewed and autonomous systems will be incorporated into the Integrated Force in high numbers over the next five years as part of a 'high-low' mix of capabilities whether undersea, at sea, on land, or over land. Exact numbers and investment apportioned to these systems will be determined as part of the Defence Investment Plan.

Whether he plans to issue an Urgent Capability Requirement to procure security enhancements for RAF bases.

The review of security across Defence is ongoing and includes looking at all options to deliver appropriate and robust security solutions. I will report updates to the House in due course.

With reference to the Government press release entitled Major £5 billion technology investment accelerates UK defence innovation in a European first, published on 2 June 2025, how much of the £4 billion for autonomous systems will be spent on drones for the (a) Royal Navy, (b) British Army and (c) Royal Air Force.

The Strategic Defence Review recommends that an immediate priority for force transformation should be a shift towards greater use of autonomy and Artificial Intelligence (AI) within the UK's conventional forces. Uncrewed and autonomous systems will be incorporated into the Integrated Force in high numbers over the next five years as part of a 'high-low' mix of capabilities whether undersea, at sea, on land, or over land. Exact numbers and investment apportioned to these systems will be determined as part of the Defence Investment Plan.

How many scalable tactical vests his Department has ordered since 5 July 2024.

To meet the ongoing demand for scalable tactical vests (STV) in August 2024, 1,980 STV textile covers in civilian blue (No Multi-Terrain Pattern) and without the Soft Armour Filler(SAF), were ordered. Defence Equipment and Support have ordered 15 Special Measure bespoke STV (SAF and MTP cover) since July 2024 for those that do not fit in any of the 12 standard sizes.