Written questions by Shastri-Hurst.

What steps his Department is taking to (a) implement the objectives of Pillar Two of the AUKUS partnership and (b) increase collaboration on (i) artificial intelligence, (ii) quantum technologies, (iii) cyber and (iv) other advanced capabilities.

The UK remains staunchly committed to AUKUS. Working with Australia and the US, we are committed to addressing the most important military challenges each nation faces, delivering cutting-edge capability advantage, and enhancing interoperability. We have set the International Joint Requirements Oversight Council (I-JROC) as the primary body to inform AUKUS Pillar Two’s focus on operational requirements most relevant to deterrence in the Indo-Pacific. This allows us to prioritise joint efforts where our capability needs align. The UK works with US and Australian colleagues on a range of capability areas including artificial intelligence & autonomy, quantum, cyber, undersea warfare, electronic warfare, hypersonics and counter-hypersonics, and innovation.

What steps the Government is taking to (a) invest in and (b) develop advanced defence technologies to enhance the United Kingdom's military capabilities; and how these technologies are being integrated into current and future defence strategies.

The Government launched the Strategic Defence Review (SDR) on 16 July 2024 to ensure we have the military capabilities needed to protect the United Kingdom now and in the future. The SDR has been considering all aspects of Defence, including the capabilities required by UK Defence to meet the challenges, threats, and opportunities of the twenty-first century. As the Prime Minister reported in his Statement on Defence and Security on 25 February 2025 (columns 631-634) in the House of Commons, the Strategic Defence Review is being finalised and it will be brought to house as soon as it is ready. It will help set the path for Britain's defence for the next decade.

How many people served in the Armed Forces (a) in total and (b) by service between 2003 to 2023.

The requested information is shown in the attached spreadsheet. UK service personnel statistics on strengths, requirements, intake, applications and outflow is published quarterly on GOV.UK here: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/quarterly-service-personnel-statistics-index

How much of the additional £0.4 billion 2025-26 resource DEL allocated to Defence at the Spring Statement will be spent on additional service personnel; and if he will make an estimate of the number of additional personnel that will be recruited as a result.

The Department is committed to taking decisive action to address recruitment and retention challenges that we inherited from the last administration and strengthen our Armed Forces, including launching the new, combined Armed Forces Recruitment Service in 2027. These initiatives are funded from our existing spending plans and will not draw on the additional funding announced in the Spring Statement.

If he will make an assessment of the potential impact of trends in the number of commercial providers being used to implement the UK's defence space capabilities on the resilience of those capabilities.

The Ministry of Defence is committed to investing £6.5 billion over 10 years to ensure the UK is a competitive force in the Space domain. The National Space Strategy makes clear that to meet the Government's goals, the UK requires a flexible approach to determining where space capabilities can be most useful and where multi-use capabilities can best meet civil and defence needs. The Defence Space Strategy delivers this flexibility by fully embracing the own-collaborate-access (OCA) framework making informed decisions to protect sovereign requirements (own), whilst maximising shared force output (collaborate, access). All capabilities within the Defence Space Portfolio incorporate a robust level of scrutiny to ensure the appropriate level of security and resilience is applied.

Whether he plans to implement the Defence Drone Strategy, published on 22 February 2024.

The Defence Drone Strategy was released in February 2024 to provide a strategic approach to drive delivery across Defence and support Frontline Command Drone capabilities. With over £4.5 billion of funding already being invested in Drones, the Ministry of Defence is committed to implementing the Defence Drone strategy, learning lessons from the conflict in Ukraine.

What estimate he has made of the additional resources that will be available for the development of space capabilities in the 2027-28 financial year, in the context of increases in defence spending.

The hon. Member and I share a passion for space, and he will know that the Ministry of Defence has invested £6.5 billion over ten years in space, including £5 billion in satellite communications through the SKYNET programme and £1.5 billion in innovative Defence space technologies. Through the Strategic Defence Review, we are assessing the strategic landscape and threat picture to inform long-term decisions on investment in future capabilities.

What progress his Department has made on delivering the Ukraine-UK uncrewed systems initiative.

Since February 2022, the UK has provided over 10,000 drones to Ukraine covering a broad range of capabilities including intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance, logistical and strike drones for both the land and maritime domain. This includes 400 drones funded via the UK-led International Fund for Ukraine, and 5,000 via the Drone Capability Coalition which the UK co-leads with Latvia. This Government is steadfast in our commitment to support Ukraine for as long as it takes. On 10 July 2024, the Prime Minister announced that the UK will provide Ukraine with £3 billion a year of military support for as long as needed. This year support totals £4.5 billion.

With reference to the Defence Drone Strategy, published on 22 February 2024, how much of the £4.6 billion has been spent so far; and if he will publish an estimated profile of future spending over the remaining years of the commitment.

I will write to the hon. Member once the information is available. Any future spend profile for Uncrewed Systems is subject to the outcomes of the Strategic Defence Review.

How many meetings his Department has had with representatives of the defence space sector since 5 July 2024.

As discussed during my meeting with the hon. Member on 10 March 2025, the Ministry of Defence engages substantially with the space sector as they are critical to the UK’s status as a global player on space. The Department holds a wide variety of meetings with the space industry. While the exact number of such meetings is unrecorded as records are not kept for all, they range from ad hoc meetings to more formal engagements with industry representatives. These relate to existing contracts for services and equipment as well as other topics such as the opportunities of new space technology. I have also held meetings with officials regarding the space industry. We will continue to engage across the sector to ensure the best approach to achieving growth.

How many additional (a) tanks and (b) armoured vehicles are expected to be operational in 2027-28, in the context of increases in defence spending.

Whilst the Army’s modernisation will continue over the next decade with a programme of investment worth billions of pounds, future capability development priorities will be guided by the Strategic Defence Review (SDR). There are no current plans to procure additional tanks or armoured vehicles to those already announced however, it would be inappropriate to comment on future capability decisions until the SDR has reported and decisions have been made.

What estimate he has made of the number of additional service personnel who will be recruited to the (a) Royal Navy, (b) British Army, (c) Royal Air Force in the 2027-28 financial year, in the context of increases in defence spending.

The increase in defence spending is a vital part of ensuring the nation can realise the ambition which will be set out in the Strategic Defence Review (SDR). All Defence personnel - in and out of uniform - are at the heart of Defence's plans. The SDR has been considering all aspects of Defence, including the approach to recruiting, training, and retaining the people Defence needs, including Regular, Reserve, Civil Service, and Industry. The new tri-service Armed Forces Recruiting Service will also launch in 2027, providing a flexible Candidate recruiting pathway, with the aim of recruiting from the broadest spectrum of society to attract the best talent into the Armed Forces.

How many full-time regular personnel were serving with the Royal Army Medical Corps on 14 March 2025; and if he will make an estimate of the number of full-time regular personnel who will be serving in the (a) 2025-26, (b) 2026-27 and (c) 20270-28 financial years.

The Royal Army Medical Corps have been amalgamated with Royal Army Dental Corps and Queen Alexandra’s Royal Army Nursing Corps to form the Royal Army Medical Service. As at 1 January 2025 there were 3,954 Trade Trained Regular personnel in the Royal Army Medical Service. The Army does not routinely release detailed future workforce forecasts. Notes/Caveats: The figures are for the Trade Trained Regular Army only and therefore exclude Gurkhas, Full Time Reserve Service, Mobilised Reserves, Army Reserve and all other Reserves, but includes those personnel that have transferred from Gurkha Trained Army Personnel to UK Trained Army Personnel. All Officers of Paid Rank Colonel and above are included in Staff regardless of late Arm/Service. Other Ranks in Senior Soldier Continuity Posts are excluded from these figures, regardless of late Arm/Service.

How many of the 24 Archer artillery systems ordered in 2019 were operationally ready on 14 March 2025.

A total of 14 Archer 6x6 artillery systems were procured in 2023 to fill a capability gap following the Granting in Kind of AS90 to Ukraine. Archer reached Initial Operating Capability in November 2024 and there are no current plans to procure any additional systems. I hope the hon. Member will understand that we would not routinely disclose figures relating to operationally deployable platforms in the interests of security and operational effectiveness.

How many 3M Combat Arms Earplugs V2 his Department purchased between 2003 and 2015.

3M Combat Arms Ear Plugs V2 were purchased by the Ministry of Defence during this period, however records of the quantities purchased are no longer held.

What the (a) workforce and (b) other costs are to maintain the (i) 4th Light Brigade Combat Team, (ii) 20th Armoured Brigade Combat Team, (iii) 102 Operational Sustainment Brigade and (iv) 1st Deep Reconnaissance Strike Brigade Combat Team at (A) routine levels of readiness and (B) full strength.

We do not hold a central record of detailed workforce costings and activity at the granular unit level requested.

What the average annual workforce and activity cost is of the (a) Regular Army Infantry Battalion, (b) Army Reserve Infantry Battalion, (c) Royal Armoured Corps Regular Army Regiment and (d) Royal Armoured Corps Army Reserves Regiment.

We do not hold a central record of detailed workforce costings and activity at the granular unit level requested.

How many 3M Combat Arms Earplugs V2 his Department has purchased in the last five years.

The Ministry of Defence holds no records of any 3M Combat Arms Earplugs V2 being purchased in the past five years.

What proportion of the Defence Medical Services cadre is operationally fit to deploy.

I am withholding the information as its disclosure would, or would be likely to prejudice the capability, effectiveness or security of the Armed Forces. Whilst a statistical release of overall Armed Forces strength is published annually, strength and capability statistics for certain specialisations are not released. Releasing the current strength and requirement of medical service personnel, or indeed other specialised professions, could be exploited by our adversaries to target, disrupt and degrade an important element of Armed Forces capability.

What steps he is taking with Cabinet colleagues to improve the UK's space-based (a) positioning, (b) navigation and (c) timing capabilities, in the context of encrypted and alerting services.

The Ministry of Defence (MOD) does not currently have any UK space-based position, navigation and timing (PNT) capabilities, nor any plans for a future space based PNT system. The MOD works closely with the National PNT Office, in the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology, to develop proposals for the UK Government’s PNT capabilities as part of the cross-Government initiative, concerning future space-based and non-space-based PNT solutions.