Written questions by Cartlidge.

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.

With reference to the Government press release entitled Government and business put forward "Team UK" approach to unleash defence sector's potential, published on 7 July 2025, how much in cash terms of the stated increase of defence spending to 2.6% is accounted for by (a) reductions in Official Development Assistance spend and (b) the addition of the single intelligence account to the defence budget.

The Chancellor’s Spring Statement 2025, table 2.1, outlines the changes to defence and Official Development Assistance (ODA) spending that will see NATO qualifying core defence spending increase to 2.5% GDP by 2027. CP1298 – Spring Statement 2025 The Single Intelligence Account (SIA) budget is not being added to the Ministry of Defence (MOD) budget, but, in line with our allies, will be considered fully NATO qualifying defence spending by 2027. The inclusion of SIA will increase defence spending by around 0.1% in 2027, meaning that NATO qualifying defence expenditure will reach 2.6% GDP in 2027. Full details of the SIA budget over the Spending Review period can be found here: Spending Review 2025 (HTML) - GOV.UK

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 Ghost MK4 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 Black Hornet 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.

Pursuant to the Answer of 18 June 2025 to Question 58776 on National Armaments Director: Public Appointments, when he expects the permanent National Armaments Director to be in place.

I refer to my answer given on 25 June to HC60825 and HC60826.

How many drones his Department has provided to Ukraine by (a) reconnaissance, (b) logistics, (c) FPV and (d) long-range one-way attack since February 2022..

The UK has delivered over 70,000 uncrewed systems to Ukraine since Russia's illegal invasion began. This includes hundreds of long-range attack drones, first person view (FPV), loitering munitions, intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) drones and maritime drones. As a former Defence Minister, he will know that for operational security reasons, we cannot provide details of the types of military drones purchased by the Ministry of Defence for its own purposes or those purchased for Ukraine.The UK is also co-leading the Drone Capability Coalition (DCC) with Latvia, which is working to increase the quality and quantity of drones provided to Ukraine. The DCC is currently focusing on small UAS and interceptors through competitive tenders, and as announced by the Defence Secretary in January, will provide 30,000 FPV drones for Ukraine by August of this year.

Pursuant to the Answer of 4 July to Question 62701 on Defence: Finance, when the Single Intelligence Budget was last included in the core defence budget.

The Single Intelligence Account is not included in the Ministry of Defence’s budget.Historically, the SIA’s budget has included elements of NATO-qualifying defence expenditure. In order to recognise the important contribution the intelligence agencies play in national defence, by 2027, we will consider the whole of the SIA to be NATO-qualifying, in line with our allies. It will be included towards the 2.6% target for core defence spending.

How many Puma 3 AE 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.

Pursuant to the Answer of 7 January to Question 21331 on National Security Advisor: Pay, whether he plans to publish the Annual Report on Special Advisers before 22 July 2025.

The Annual Report on Special Advisers has been published on gov.uk.

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 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.

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.

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.

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.

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, 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.