Written question asked by Andrew Rosindell (Reform UK) on Thursday, 25 June 2026, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Monday, 29 June 2026. It was answered by Luke Pollard (Labour) on Friday, 3 July 2026 on behalf of the Ministry of Defence.
Seabed
- Question
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To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what steps he has taken to enhance the seabed warfare capabilities of the Royal Navy.
- Answer
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The Royal Navy (RN) continues to enhance its seabed warfare capabilities through a combination of investment in new technologies, platforms, and international partnerships.
This includes the development of advanced autonomous and remotely operated systems under the Mine Hunting Capability (MHC) programme, which consists of deployable, uncrewed systems capable of surveying, monitoring and protecting the seabed. The RN has also established dedicated capabilities within its operational structure to focus on the protection of subsea assets, including undersea cables and pipelines, working closely with other Government Departments and allies.
The Defence Investment Plan outlined several investments into seabed warfare capabilities, including an additional £330 million critical underwater infrastructure protection capabilities, including upgrades and enhancements for RFA Proteus, and a £90 million investment in the autonomous minehunting programme to procure offshore support vessels (OSVs) in conjunction with Norway.
Secondary information
- Type
- Written question
- Reference
- 13108
- Session
- 2026-27
- Subjects
- Navy Seabed
- Link
- View this Written question on www.parliament.uk
Librarians' tools
- Timestamp
- 2026-07-03 09:45:08 +0100
- URI
- http://data.parliament.uk/writtenparliamentaryquestion/commons/2026-27/13108
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- http://indexing.parliament.uk/Content/Edit/1?uri=http://data.parliament.uk/writtenparliamentaryquestion/commons/2026-27/13108
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- https://search.parliament.uk/claw/solr/?id=http://data.parliament.uk/writtenparliamentaryquestion/commons/2026-27/13108