Speeches by Norman.

“The Committee will know that I have a personal interest, if not a Committee interest, in this area. Can you tell me how the quad is supposed to work? How it is supposed to work is actually very opaque. For example, you have said that you are responsible for platforms, exquisite technologies and long-term development; b…”

“Okay. I was thinking about domestic capability rather than working with foreign players who are testing and developing capability here. Obviously, in a war context, you cannot predict what will happen to your ability to control a domestic supply chain. You have emphasised the importance of domestic supply chains. Some …”

“Right, but you are trying to make rapid acceleration part of the normal tempo of activity, so it will inevitably bring you into some conflict with the existing mechanisms, whether they are at the platform level, the user level or the MoD level. How do you get the right level of challenge, engagement and focus on struct…”

“In terms of domestic production, backing our own champions, capability and long-term resilience.”

“Do you draw a distinction between what you might call platform investment over a long period and consumables investment?”

“Obviously, we have seen examples around the world where consumables investment is now such that in a war context it can be a matter of a few days between the order and the supply. Is that the kind of framework you intend to move towards for this country?”

“We will come to Kindred later, but I have a limited amount of time so want to focus on a couple of things now. Do you think it is a strategic weakness for the UK that we are not taking drones investment as seriously as the Germans are, with Stark, Quantum and Helsing?”

“Thank you for coming. There is a lot of concern across the defence world and the wider country about the lack of readiness in our defence forces—the MoD and the armed services. On the other side, there is concern about the lack of a demand signal that would prime investment. Is that your view?”

“You don’t share the concern about readiness?”

“How do you interpret that? Is it a source of frustration that you will not have the same level of control?”

“If you don’t have a sense of defence readiness, how can you guide priorities?”

“Why is that, and why does it make sense for nuclear but not for other platforms?”

“What is your resting assumption about defence readiness that is guiding your priorities?”

“A key theme of business questions has been the need for the Government and, indeed, the whole country to be resolute in the face of Russian aggression in Ukraine. In that context, I know the whole House will want to join me again in expressing our profound sorrow for the death of Lance Corporal George Hooley of the Par…”

“Will the Leader of the House give us the forthcoming business?”

“Will the Leader of the House give us the forthcoming business?”

“If I may, I would like to express my personal sorrow at the death of Sir John Stanley this week. The House may not know that he was the first person to reach and to comfort the dying Airey Neave, after Neave had been the victim of a bomb from the Irish National Liberation Army, a spin-off of the IRA. Sir John was also …”

“I am glad to hear that. I have another question. There was a piece in the FT about how the Army is now about to invest significantly in German and American drones. What about supporting British drone businesses? We have several very high-quality ones that are ready for scaling.”

“You are kidding. Late 2025 is the commitment. It is 2 December. When can we see it? Are you going to run it so late that we cannot have any parliamentary scrutiny before Christmas?”

“That is helpful. My final question is for Air Marshal Jones. I thought you said earlier that the programme was making real progress on submersibles and underwater technology in relation to pillar 2. Have any projects been acquired? Have any platforms been built? Have any products been created that one could recognise a…”