I refer the noble Lord to the answer given by my hon. Friend the Minister for Defence Procurement (Stuart Andrew) to Question 246484 on 25 April in the House of Commons to the right hon. Member for North Durham (Kevan Jones).

The Army have awarded Thales a Future Support Contract to maintain the serviceability of the Watchkeeper Unmanned Air System from 1 April 2019 for the next five years.

In November 2016 the Ministry of Defence outlined the Department's intention to create an estate optimised to support Defence capabilities and communities; these plans were, however, subject to further, detailed assessment work.

Although this work on future basing options for a number of Royal Marines sites will not report until 2021, work to date has confirmed that the current locations and supporting infrastructure arrangements for RMB Chivenor and Norton Manor Camp are fundamentally sound and best to serve the future Royal Marines requirements.

HMS QUEEN ELIZABETH safely docked at Rosyth on 6 April 2019.

The Ministry of Defence Strategic Programmes team has established a Novel Weapons team to build on the work carried out by Defence Science and Technology. It is preparing the Ministry of Defence for the introduction of capabilities, including High Energy Lasers. A range of Capability Demonstration Programmes will be undertaken to accelerate the introduction of Directed Energy Weapons by approximately 10 years and further inform the Armed Forces of their utility.

The UK remains concerned by the planned purchase of S-400 by Turkey and its implications for their continued participation in the F-35 programme. As the US administration has made clear, the purchase of S-400 generates unacceptable risks around F-35. We share this risk assessment and continue to call on Turkey to reconsider its planned purchase in light of those risks and the US offer of alternative solutions to legitimate Turkish air defence requirements.

The UK has no formal plans to purchase optionally manned aircraft. Air programmes, such as the Combat Air Acquisition Programme (CAAP) which aims to replace Typhoon's capabilities from 2040 onwards, are assessing the potential benefits of such solutions across a range of applications.

I refer the noble Lord to the oral statement given in the House of Commons by my right hon. Friend the Minister for Defence Personnel and Veterans (Tobias Ellwood) on 28 February 2019 (Official Report, column 540) that provided an update on the work undertaken through the Defence Estate Optimisation Programme.

There is a long tradition of Commonwealth citizens serving in the British Armed Forces, and we continue to value their service which provides an important contribution in defending the UK at home and abroad.

The table below shows the numbers of Commonwealth citizens serving in our Armed Forces as at 1 April 2018:

The 4,500 Commonwealth citizens in the Regular forces represent 3.4% of the Regular trained strength. The 210 Commonwealth citizens in the FR20 Reserves represent 0.7% of the FR20 Reserve trained strength.

Notes:

• Figures for the Royal Navy/Royal Marines and Royal Air Force are for the Trained Regular Population and Trained FR20 population. Army figures are for Trade Trained Regular population, and Trained FR20 population.
• Nationality is as reported on the Joint Personnel Administration system
• Figures are rounded to the nearest 10.

We keep our recruitment policies under constant review, and should there be any future changes in relation to applications from the Commonwealth these will be made clear on the single Service websites.

There is a long tradition of Commonwealth citizens serving in the British Armed Forces, and we continue to value their service which provides an important contribution in defending the UK at home and abroad.

The table below shows the numbers of Commonwealth citizens serving in our Armed Forces as at 1 April 2018:

The 4,500 Commonwealth citizens in the Regular forces represent 3.4% of the Regular trained strength. The 210 Commonwealth citizens in the FR20 Reserves represent 0.7% of the FR20 Reserve trained strength.

Notes:

• Figures for the Royal Navy/Royal Marines and Royal Air Force are for the Trained Regular Population and Trained FR20 population. Army figures are for Trade Trained Regular population, and Trained FR20 population.
• Nationality is as reported on the Joint Personnel Administration system
• Figures are rounded to the nearest 10.

We keep our recruitment policies under constant review, and should there be any future changes in relation to applications from the Commonwealth these will be made clear on the single Service websites.

Good progress continues to be made on the P-8A Maritime Patrol Aircraft programme with the first RAF aircraft remaining on track for delivery in 2019. In addition, construction work on dedicated infrastructure at RAF Lossiemouth to support those who will operate and maintain the RAF P-8A fleet commenced in April 2018, and is progressing according to the agreed schedule. In April 2018 the first RAF squadron that will operate the P-8A, Number 120 Squadron, was stood up. Personnel have already begun undertaking training courses and, through the Seedcorn initiative, a small number of RAF personnel have maintained the skills required to operate fixed-wing Maritime Patrol Aircraft.

We plan to award a single design and build contract by the end of 2019.

We expect to be in a position to share the results of the Modernising Defence Programme later in the autumn.

The Dreadnought submarine programme entered a new three-year phase of work, to be conducted in tranches, in spring this year. The design and build of the first of class, Dreadnought, continues and she remains on track to enter service in 2030. The build phase for the entire class will take approximately 20 years. The Dreadnought programme will ensure the United Kingdom has a credible, independent and capable nuclear deterrent out to the 2060s.

The seventh Annual Update to Parliament on the United Kingdom's Future Nuclear Deterrent will be published later this year.

Aircrew from all three services are provided with protective spectacles to give protection from high power laser activity. We regularly review how protection can be improved.

The UK's capability and industrial cooperation, including joint procurement, is delivered through bilateral and multilateral relationships with our allies and partners. As the Prime Minister laid out in her Munich speech, the UK hopes to continue to collaborate with EU partners on defence research and development to support Europe's military capabilities and defence industrial base.

It is planned for the Lightning Force to achieve Initial Operating Capability (IOC) from land bases in December 2018.

At IOC the UK F-35B will, as a multi-role aircraft, have the ability to conduct a full range of missions including air-to-air and air-to-surface operations.

In autumn 2018, we will begin initial flight trials for F-35B aircraft from HMS Queen Elizabeth, building towards delivering an Initial Operating Capability (Carrier Strike) from late 2020.

The Ministry of Defence has ordered 22 A400M aircraft, of which 19 have been delivered to date. The 20th aircraft is due to be handed over shortly, and the final delivery is expected in 2022.

We continue to assess the military effectiveness of rotary unmanned aerial systems and have ongoing capability studies that will help inform our future manned and unmanned capability choices.