Written question asked by Ben Obese-Jecty (Conservative) on Monday, 20 October 2025, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Wednesday, 22 October 2025. It was answered by Luke Pollard (Labour) on Wednesday, 29 October 2025 on behalf of the Ministry of Defence.

Defence: Technology

Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to page 72 of the Defence Industrial Strategy: Making Defence an Engine for Growth, published on 8 September 2025, CP 1388, what recent progress he has made in piloting the provision of a high fidelity virtual test range.

Answer

As set out in the Defence Industrial Strategy, our Test and Evaluation Transformation programme is piloting the provision of a high-fidelity virtual test range, focused on the evaluation of UK equipment in the most demanding operational environments. This project will pave the way for the UK Defence enterprise to rapidly test, innovate and integrate systems against the most demanding operational use-cases.

Since publication of the Defence Industrial Strategy, the project’s technical approach has been tested through the largest and most ambitious multinational trial ever undertaken on a virtual range of this type. This successfully validated the technical direction of the project and work is underway to establish the facilities needed to expand access to the pilot by the summer of 2026.

Secondary information

Type: Written question
Reference: 83354
Session: 2024-26
Related items: Defence Industrial Strategy: Making Defence an Engine for Growth
Monday, 8 September 2025
Command papers
House of Commons
House of Lords
Subjects: Defence Technology Testing
Link: View this Written question on www.parliament.uk

Defence: Technology

Secondary information

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