Written questions by Cartlidge.

For what reason HMS Lancaster will be decommissioned in Bahrain.

HMS Lancaster has exceeded the 18 years lifespan she was originally built for and, with almost 35 years of outstanding service, she has reached her planned out of service date. She has been forward deployed to the Middle East for the last three years where her output has been exceptional.Rather than seek to extend her safety certification further, the Royal Navy is commencing preparations for her final disposal while she is in Bahrain. This decision has maximised operational output whilst ensuring that the safety and wellbeing of the Ships Company is paramount. As is standard practice for decommissioning ships, any material or supplies on HMS Lancaster that can be used elsewhere in the fleet will be repurposed.

With reference to his Department's press release entitled UK unveils new undersea warfare technology to counter threat from Russia, published on 8 December 2025, if he will list the capabilities that are due to be deployed in the water in 2026.

The Royal Navy will be deploying new undersea warfare technology as part of Atlantic Net, a new initiative that will see the Royal Navy rapidly field and iterate undersea warfare technology in collaboration with a commercial mission partner or partners. The competition for the first Atlantic Net commercial competition closed on 26 Nov 2025. I know the Hon. Gentleman will recall from his time as a Defence Minister that public disclosure on the companies that have submitted proposals, or a breakdown of firms and capabilities involved would prejudice fair competition.

With reference to his Department's press release entitled UK unveils new undersea warfare technology to counter threat from Russia, published on 8 December 2025, if he will list the firms from (a) the UK and (b) Europe that have submitted proposals to develop anti-submarine sensor technology.

The Royal Navy will be deploying new undersea warfare technology as part of Atlantic Net, a new initiative that will see the Royal Navy rapidly field and iterate undersea warfare technology in collaboration with a commercial mission partner or partners. The competition for the first Atlantic Net commercial competition closed on 26 Nov 2025. I know the Hon. Gentleman will recall from his time as a Defence Minister that public disclosure on the companies that have submitted proposals, or a breakdown of firms and capabilities involved would prejudice fair competition.

With reference to his Department's press release entitled UK unveils new undersea warfare technology to counter threat from Russia, published on 8 December 2025, whether a contract has been placed for the Seabed Sentry network since 5 July 2024.

No contract has been placed for Seabed Sentry. Procurement of such platforms would be conducted in accordance with UK commercial law, through a fair competition. The first formal element of the tendering process for Atlantic NET, commenced in September 25 and was completed in January 26. This involved the assessment of 26 compliant industry proposed solutions for ‘Persistent ASW Sense (ISR) as a Service’ and followed on from 6 months of regular two-way industry engagement with approximately 327 companies in the supplier base. These are largely UK based, or have UK elements in their proposals.

With reference to his Department's press release entitled UK unveils new undersea warfare technology to counter threat from Russia, published on 8 December 2025, whether a contract has been placed for the Herne submarine since 5 July 2024.

No contract or orders have been placed for the Herne large diameter uncrewed underwater vessel. Procurement of such platforms would be conducted in accordance with UK commercial law, through a fair competition. The first formal element of the tendering process for Atlantic NET, commenced in September 2025 and was completed in January 2026. This involved the assessment of 26 compliant industry proposed solutions for ‘Persistent ASW Sense (ISR) as a Service’ and followed on from six months of regular two-way industry engagement with approximately 327 companies in the supplier base. These are largely UK based, or have UK elements in their proposals.

With reference to his Department's press release entitled UK unveils new undersea warfare technology to counter threat from Russia, published on 8 December 2025, how many orders for the Herne submarine have been placed since 5 July 2024.

No contract or orders have been placed for the Herne large diameter uncrewed underwater vessel. Procurement of such platforms would be conducted in accordance with UK commercial law, through a fair competition. The first formal element of the tendering process for Atlantic NET, commenced in September 2025 and was completed in January 2026. This involved the assessment of 26 compliant industry proposed solutions for ‘Persistent ASW Sense (ISR) as a Service’ and followed on from six months of regular two-way industry engagement with approximately 327 companies in the supplier base. These are largely UK based, or have UK elements in their proposals.

With reference to the Minister of State's answer to the Urgent Question on 8 November 2025 from the Hon. Member for South Suffolk, whether the Ajax programme will be considered in the Defence Investment Programme.

The upcoming Defence Investment Plan will be released in the near future and as such it would be inappropriate to comment on its content at this stage.

With reference to the Minister of State's answer to the Urgent Question on 8 November 2025 from the Hon. Member for South Suffolk, whether any decisions on the Ajax programme in the Defence Investment Plan have been changed as a result of the safety investigations into the Ajax vehicle.

The upcoming Defence Investment Plan will be released in the near future and as such it would be inappropriate to comment on its content at this stage.

With reference to the Minister of State's answer to the Urgent Question on 8 November 2025 from the Hon. Member for South Suffolk, whether the Ajax programme safety investigations have caused a delay to the publication of the Defence Investment Plan.

The upcoming Defence Investment Plan will be released in the near future and as such it would be inappropriate to comment on its content at this stage.

With reference to the Minister of State's answer to Urgent Question on 8 December 2025 from the Hon. Member for South Suffolk, Official Report, col 46, if he will name the external organisation with experience of noise and vibration that has been asked to assess Ajax.

For reasons of commercial sensitivity, it would be inappropriate to comment on the details of the Ministry of Defence’s work with external experts and organisations, which is in progress.

With reference to the Minister of State's answer to Urgent Question on 8 December 2025 from the Hon. Member for South Suffolk, Official Report, col 46, whether the work conducted by the team of experts from organisations outside the GD production line on the Ajax programme will be made public.

For reasons of commercial sensitivity, it would be inappropriate to comment on the details of the Ministry of Defence’s work with external experts and organisations, which is in progress.

With reference to the Minister of State's answer to Urgent Question on 8 December 2025 from the Hon. Member for South Suffolk, Official Report, col 46, whether any future decision on the Ajax programme will be made before the completion of all three reviews currently underway.

It would not be appropriate to pre-empt the outcome of the ongoing investigations or to comment further at this stage. The investigations must be given adequate time to identify the root cause of the issue. Decisions will be taken by Ministers in due course.

With reference to the Minister of State's answer to Urgent Question on 8 December 2025 from the Hon. Member for South Suffolk, Official Report, col 46, whether the team of experts from organisations outside the GD production line will receive monetary compensations for their work.

For reasons of commercial sensitivity, it would be inappropriate to comment on the details of the Ministry of Defence’s work with external experts and organisations, which is in progress.

When he expects HMS Diamond to complete the Power Improvement Project upgrade.

I refer the hon. member to the answer I gave him on 11 December 2025 to Questions 96770, 96771, 97300 and 97301 about the forward plans for the Type 45 Destroyer’s Power Improvement Project.

With reference to the Minister of State's answer to Urgent Question on 8 December 2025 from the Hon. Member for South Suffolk, Official Report, col 46, what form the expertise and challenge from the team of experts from organisations outside the GD production line will take.

For reasons of commercial sensitivity, it would be inappropriate to comment on the details of the Ministry of Defence’s work with external experts and organisations, which is in progress.

When he expects HMS Duncan to complete the Power Improvement Project upgrade.

I refer the hon. member to the answer I gave him on 11 December 2025 to Questions 96770, 96771, 97300 and 97301 about the forward plans for the Type 45 Destroyer’s Power Improvement Project.

With reference to the Minister of State's answer to Urgent Question on 8 December 2025 from the Hon. Member for South Suffolk, Official Report, col 46, whether the team of experts from organisations outside the GD production line will produce a report into the Ajax programme.

For reasons of commercial sensitivity, it would be inappropriate to comment on the details of the Ministry of Defence’s work with external experts and organisations, which is in progress.

Pursuant to the Answer of 3 December to Question 94229 on Autonomous Weapons: Procurement, what percentage of the £450 million on Uncrewed Systems was spent on funding procurement for Ukraine.

The Ministry of Defence's (MOD) spend of over £450 million on drones does not include spend in support of Ukraine. Over £300 million of the total spend was on uncrewed systems research and development, and the remaining spent on uncrewed system procurement. The MOD has had delivery of over 8,000 uncrewed systems since July 2024. Due to operational security considerations, it is important to guard against the threat of adversary data aggregation regarding the specific detailed breakdown of UK military capability, including platform numbers and types, so it would be inappropriate to comment further. The MOD works with over 60 companies to deliver drones for defence, 17 of which are British Companies. We are unable to provide a figure of total drone contracts at this time.

Pursuant to the Answer of 3 December to Question 94229 on Autonomous Weapons: Procurement, how much of the £450 million spent on Uncrewed Systems was not spent on research and development.

The Ministry of Defence's (MOD) spend of over £450 million on drones does not include spend in support of Ukraine. Over £300 million of the total spend was on uncrewed systems research and development, and the remaining spent on uncrewed system procurement. The MOD has had delivery of over 8,000 uncrewed systems since July 2024. Due to operational security considerations, it is important to guard against the threat of adversary data aggregation regarding the specific detailed breakdown of UK military capability, including platform numbers and types, so it would be inappropriate to comment further. The MOD works with over 60 companies to deliver drones for defence, 17 of which are British Companies. We are unable to provide a figure of total drone contracts at this time.

Pursuant to the Answer of 3 December to Question 94229 on Autonomous Weapons: Procurement, in relation to the £450 million spent on Uncrewed Systems, what the remaining £150 million that was not spent on research and development was spent on.

The Ministry of Defence's (MOD) spend of over £450 million on drones does not include spend in support of Ukraine. Over £300 million of the total spend was on uncrewed systems research and development, and the remaining spent on uncrewed system procurement. The MOD has had delivery of over 8,000 uncrewed systems since July 2024. Due to operational security considerations, it is important to guard against the threat of adversary data aggregation regarding the specific detailed breakdown of UK military capability, including platform numbers and types, so it would be inappropriate to comment further. The MOD works with over 60 companies to deliver drones for defence, 17 of which are British Companies. We are unable to provide a figure of total drone contracts at this time.