Written question asked by Ben Obese-Jecty (Conservative) on Wednesday, 1 July 2026, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Monday, 6 July 2026. It was answered by Luke Pollard (Labour) on Monday, 20 July 2026 on behalf of the Ministry of Defence.

AUKUS: Unmanned Marine Systems

Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to the Defence Investment Plan, published on 30 June 2026, page 26, how much he has budgeted for investment in weapons and sensor payloads for underwater drones as part of AUKUS Pillar 2.

Answer: The AUKUS Pillar II Signature Project on cutting-edge payloads and enabling systems for uncrewed underwater vehicles (UUVs) will be funded from within the £1.3 billion investment to accelerate the Royal Navy's use of autonomous and uncrewed systems, and £1.2 billion investment in wider Underwater Warfare, set out in the Defence Investment Plan. It builds on the existing funding lines from the Anti-Submarine Warfare Spearhead programme, and wider funding for Maritime Combat Systems.

Secondary information