Written questions by Obese-Jecty.

What the full scope is of Project Loca.

For reasons of operational security, I am unable to provide details relating to Project Loca.

With reference to page 21 of the Defence Industrial Strategy: Making Defence an Engine for Growth, published on 8 September 2025, CP 1388, what steps he has taken to reform his Department's (a) procurement and (b) acquisition systems.

Implementation of the procurement and acquisition reforms set out in the Defence Industrial Strategy is underway, under the new National Armaments Director who took up post on 14 October 2025.We are introducing service-agnostic capability portfolios, aligned with wider departmental reforms. The portfolio-driven approach will increase pace and adaptability, enabling us to maximise the output from our investment, reduce waste and be more market aligned.Five commercial pathways have been launched for Spiral, Urgent, Design to Cost, Digital & Technology and Low Complexity Procurement. These pathways underpin the new segmented approach to procurement. A new Small and Medium Sized Enterprise (SME) commercial pathway is being introduced to increase the number of opportunities for SMEs and make our contracting processes simpler, less onerous and faster.The Defence Supply Chain Capability Programme will create greater resilience, speed and adaptability in the supply chain to underpin our warfighting edge and help to drive economic growth in the context of increasing global instability.

With reference to page 21 of the Defence Industrial Strategy: Making Defence an Engine for Growth, published on 8 September 2025, CP 1388, what recent steps he has taken to increase the competitiveness of the defence sector.

The Defence Industrial Strategy, published on 8 September 2025, sets out our vision to make the UK defence sector more competitive, integrated, innovative and resilient. To do this, we are backing UK based businesses (Section 4), fixing defence procurement (Section 7) and putting the UK at the leading edge of defence innovation (Section 5), to make defence an engine for growth. Recent steps include the launch of UK Defence Innovation, the launch of an offset regime consultation, and progress towards the establishment of the Defence Office for Small Business Growth in Spring 2026. The Defence Investment Plan will include economic growth considerations and offer long-term procurement signals to encourage investment.

With reference to page 51 of the Defence Industrial Strategy: Making Defence an Engine for Growth, published on 8 September 2025, CP 1388, when he plans to commission the Competition and Markets Authority to support his Department in monitoring (a) competition and (b) supply chain structures in the defence industrial base.

In accordance with the Defence Industrial Strategy the Department is already engaged with the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) Public Policy Team to provide subject matter expertise on the review of the single source contracting regulations. The CMA are also working with the Department in reviewing the state of defence competition.

What the full scope is of Project Atilla.

Project Atilla will look to deliver an Uncrewed Ground Vehicle Minefield Breaching capability. The Project is currently in its concept phase.

With reference to page 65 of the Defence Industrial Strategy: Making Defence an Engine for Growth, published on 8 September 2025, CP 1388, what seed grants he plans to use to fund the UK Defence Innovation Rapid Innovation Unit.

UK Defence Innovation (UKDI) will continue invest in structures to support business growth and to increase investment into SMEs, start-ups, and non-traditional defence and security suppliers to support a diverse and agile supply chain and ensure delivery of pioneering capability to national security and defence. The UKDI - Defence and Security Accelerator (UKDI_DASA) is a Special Partner in the delivery of The Defence and Security (D&S) Seed Fund portfolio, which is funded by the Ministry of Defence (MOD) and sits within UK Innovation and Science Seed Fund (UKI2S). UKI2S is a Pre seed and Seed fund for defence and Security SMEs with investment from MOD for SME innovation looking for private equity funding. The UKDI - Defence and Security Accelerator (UKDI_DASA) supported by Innovate UK Loans Ltd (Innovate UK) delivers a Defence funding competition: the Defence Innovation Loan. This service provides an opportunity for single Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) with solutions to defence themed problems to apply for a Defence Innovation Loan of between £100,000 and £1 million with a below market interest rate of 7.4% per annum

With reference to page 65 of the Defence Industrial Strategy: Making Defence an Engine for Growth, published on 8 September 2025, CP 1388, what the (a) scope and (b) criteria are of the new competitions to create long range, cheap and mass-produced one-way attack drones.

The Ministry of Defence (MOD) is working with the Front-Line Commands (FLCs) and across the ecosystem to build on existing uncrewed systems (UxS) delivery. There is significant work ongoing across Defence on the development of UxS as we look to rapidly iterate novel capabilities, learn lessons from Ukraine, support the Government's growth agenda and grow the UK technology sector. A competition for novel uncrewed aerial systems will launch in early 2026. There is a wide spectrum of UxS requirements from across Defence, some are complementary whilst others are bespoke to each Service. The scope and requirement of competitions for will primarily look at range, payload, size and survivability of UxS as required by the FLCs.

What the full scope is of Project drone academy.

Project DRONE ACADEMY was an innovation project delivered by Cyber and Specialist Operations Command (formerly UK Strategic Command) innovation team, the jHub. The project sought to explore novel learning pathways to rapidly deliver uncrewed systems (UxS) training, namely on First Person View (FPV) drones, to personnel across Defence. The outputs from Project DRONE ACADEMY have been used to inform longer term Defence training requirements, while concurrently providing Defence with a base level of FPV operators to build upon.

With reference to page 46 of the Defence Industrial Strategy: Making Defence an Engine for Growth, published on 8 September 2025, CP 1388, when he plans to launch a new Apprenticeship and Graduate Clearing System.

Dates have not been confirmed for the launch of the Apprenticeship and Graduate Clearing System. We will work closely with industry, including through the Defence Industrial Joint Council, to develop and pilot this system. Further information will be released in due course.

With reference to page 23 of the Defence Industrial Strategy: Making Defence an Engine for Growth, published on 8 September 2025, CP 1388, what criteria would need to be met to define a bank as part of the defence industrial base.

Work on this matter is ongoing and as a result it would be inappropriate for me to comment at this time.

What the full scope is of the Heavy Protected Mobility project.

The Heavy Protected Mobility sub-programme, as part of the Land Mobility Programme, will deliver a new Heavy Protected vehicle to Army front line forces replacing existing Protected Mobility platforms.

What the full scope is of the Light Protected Mobility project.

The Light Protected Mobility sub programme, as part of the Land Mobility Programme, will deliver high mobility protected vehicles that fill the requirements currently met by Foxhound, Jackal, Husky and Panther. This will likely be achieved by modernising existing platforms to deliver greater utility and ability to operate as the host platform for new mission systems.

With reference to page 28 of the Defence Industrial Strategy: Making Defence an Engine for Growth, published on 8 September 2025, what progress he has made in reducing the regulatory burden for defence suppliers.

Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) hold a crucial place in UK defence. They are the backbone of the UK economy and are vital to delivering the innovation, expertise and agility that we need now and in the future. This is recognised in the Defence Industrial Strategy, as well as the Department’s Social Value policy. We work with our largest suppliers through a network of their SME Champions, trade associations and SME representatives to ensure that smaller companies have access to opportunities in our supply chain and that our prime contractors are adopting policies, such as fair payment practices, that support small businesses working in defence. We are also introducing a new SME Commercial Pathway as part of our broader acquisition transformation. Through this pathway, Defence will increase the number of opportunities for SMEs, and make our contracting processes simpler, less onerous and faster. This Government has already announced an ambitious but achievable target to spend £7.5 billion with SMEs by 2028 which will see direct spend increase by approximately £700 million during the next three years, and we will launch a new Office For Small Business Growth to provide SMEs with better access to the defence supply chain, ensuring that thousands of small businesses in the UK, continue to lead the way in developing the world-beating technologies and services that we will need.

What the full scope is of Project Rosetta.

Project ROSETTA was a cross-Government (x-HMG) innovation project. It conducted a cost-effective, UK-based immersive language and culture isolation programme aimed at enhancing the language proficiency and cultural understanding of x-HMG language students. The trial specifically focused on Chinese Mandarin. Feedback from the trial was positive. We are now using the findings to explore options for establishing long-term immersive language training facilities for a range of languages.

With reference to page 23 of the Defence Industrial Strategy: Making Defence an Engine for Growth, published on 8 September 2025, CP 1388, which trade unions will be designated as being part of the defence industrial base.

Through the Defence Industrial Strategy we are taking a ‘whole of society’ approach, where both traditional defence and dual use manufacturers are included in a broader UK defence industry.Therefore, individual Trade Unions are not being classified as either inside or outside this new definition. This approach encompasses all elements of the UK defence enterprise including major defence contractors, SMEs, academia and defence workforce. At the Defence Industrial Joint Council (DIJC) the interests of the workforce are represented by a number of Trade Unions. In line with other members of the DIJC, the Trade Unions representatives are appointed through HMG’s Public Appointments Process, based on the expertise and insight they bring.

With reference to page 52 of the Defence Industrial Strategy: Making Defence an Engine for Growth, published on 8 September 2025, CP 1388, when he plans to publish the SME Action Plan.

We are focused on ensuring that more SMEs can access opportunities throughout the defence supply-chain. We are committed to publishing our SME Action Plan which will focus on delivering a step-change in SME engagement both directly and indirectly. The action plan will be published as soon as practicable after the conclusion of the Defence Investment Plan process.

With reference to page 69 of the Defence Industrial Strategy: Making Defence an Engine for Growth, published on 8 September 2025, CP 1388, where he plans to establish the Defence Energy and Capability Resilience Centre of Excellence.

The Defence Energy and Capability Resilience Centre of Excellence (DECX) is being established initially as a virtual entity, with Defence Science and Technology Laboratory (DSTL) acting as the custodian. The final decision regarding location will be confirmed once DECX reaches full operating capability.

With reference to page 52 of the Defence Industrial Strategy: Making Defence an Engine for Growth, published on 8 September 2025, CP 1388, what support he plans to provide to (a) small businesses and (b) start-ups.

The Ministry of Defence (MOD) recognises that SMEs seeking to work in defence face unique challenges. The department is committed to simplifying access to UK defence for SMEs removing unnecessary barriers and making it easier for small businesses to find the right support and guidance. Work on delivering the new Defence Office for Small Business Growth is well underway, and MOD has consulted widely with small businesses and across UK industry to ensure that the new service meets defence SMEs needs. The exact detail of how the Office for Small Business Growth will operate, including the scope of services is being developed in close consultation with industry but will include more coherent access to existing supplier development programmes and a range of direct services to SMEs enabling them to better navigate the UK defence environment. Initial operating capability will be achieved in the spring of 2026

What the full scope is of the Land Mobility Programme.

The Land Mobility Programme (LMP) is a 20-year pan-Defence programme that seeks to deliver a fleet of over 13,000 digitally enabled, adaptable utility and protected mobility vehicles to the Joint Force. The programme comprises of three sub-programmes: Heavy Protected Mobility, Light Protected Mobility and Light Mobility Vehicle.

How many (a) SMEs and (b) non-traditional suppliers are involved in his Department's innovation programmes.

Defence is focussed on exploiting new and innovative ideas and technologies to secure a competitive edge for our Armed Forces. Within the scope of UK Defence Innovation (UKDI), there are currently 49 programmes funded through investment vehicles such as the Defence Innovation Fund (DIF) and the Exploitation Fund (ExF). The number of SMEs and non-traditional suppliers involved in these programmes is not currently defined. Furthermore, the UKDI Defence and security accelerator (UKDI-DASA) has launched 12 themed competitions and ran five cycles of the Open Call for Innovation. UKDI-DASA has funded 123 projects, of which 73% were with SMEs.