Vessels from the Royal Navy visited New Zealand on the below dates.

At 1 April 2026 (most recently available data) 10.5% of UK full time trade trained army personnel were graded Medically Limited Deployable (MLD). Personnel graded as MND are not fit to deploy on Operations, they may be deployable on UK based exercises and should be able to work effectively for at least 32.5 hours per week. Personnel graded MND may require continued medical care, long term medication and access to secondary care facilities.

14.3% of personnel were graded Medically Limited Deployable (MLD). Personnel with a grade of MLD are medically fit for duty with minor employment limitations. A grade of MLD requires a medical risk assessment to be carried out for deployment. The decision on that deployment will depend on the medical condition, individual function, the proposed employment, length of the deployment and the medical support available. As such, it should not be assumed that only those personnel graded Medically Fully Deployable are able to deploy.

This response presents Medical Deployability Standard (MDS) for all full-time trade trained army personnel, including Gurkhas and reservists.

The Defence Investment Plan sets out the ambition for the British Army to become ten times more lethal by 2035. This increase in lethality is not a single moment but a trajectory, assessed through the Army's ability to generate combat effects faster and more effectively than potential adversaries.

Progress is tracked against Army Command Plan milestones that reflect the transformation of fighting power. This approach, supported by investments in systems such as Project ASGARD, Challenger 3, and RCH-155, ensures the Army delivers a more lethal, tech-enabled force capable of deterring threats and defending the UK and NATO territory.

The Army is integrating drones at all levels as part of its 5^th Generation Land Forces transition. This includes the delivery of uncrewed capabilities from the tactical to the strategic level, integrated into a coherent force design rather than fielded as standalone systems.

In line with the Army’s 20:40:40 force design construct, capabilities will include high-volume, low-cost consumable drones that can be rapidly replaced, alongside more sophisticated attritable uncrewed systems whose loss is acceptable without jeopardising mission success. These capabilities will be integrated with survivable crewed platforms that command and exploit the capabilities of the wider force. Investing in the new force design construct will enhance the Army’s ability to sense, strike and manoeuvre at greater scale, speed, and persistence.

The Land Lethality Pipeline intends to provide Land Forces with uncrewed surveillance, reconnaissance and strike capabilities enabling them to conduct layered find-and-strike operations as part of modern combined arms warfare. These capabilities will include reconnaissance Uncrewed Aerial Systems (UAS), strike drones, dropper drones and loitering munitions.

I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave him on 9 September 2025, to Question 73563 which remains extant.

https://questions-statements.parliament.uk/written-questions/detail/2025-08-29/73563

The Defence Investment Plan has provisioned £400 million to the Land Lethality Pipeline, which includes a £50 million boost to the Army’s RAPSTONE rapid lethality programme over the next twelve months. This boost will enable Taskforce RAPSTONE to deliver important projects by drawing on the lessons learned from Ukraine to accelerate the fielding of new capabilities into the British Army.

Whilst procurement timelines vary, Taskforce RAPSTONE aims to deliver capabilities into the hands of the user as a Minimum Deployable Capability (MDC) within six to 12 months.

The Defence Investment Plan has provisioned £400 million to the Land Lethality Pipeline, which includes a £50 million boost to the Army’s RAPSTONE rapid lethality programme over the next twelve months. This boost will enable Taskforce RAPSTONE to deliver important projects by drawing on the lessons learned from Ukraine to accelerate the fielding of new capabilities into the British Army.

Whilst procurement timelines vary, Taskforce RAPSTONE aims to deliver capabilities into the hands of the user as a Minimum Deployable Capability (MDC) within six to 12 months.

Uncrewed systems are currently operating at British Army Training Unit Suffield. The site also supports the testing and evaluation of these systems across its 2,700 km² training area. As outlined in the Defence Investment Plan, future investment will better exploit the site's unique scale and freedom of manoeuvre, supporting the accelerated development and delivery of uncrewed systems capability.

The British Army is refocusing the British Army Training Unit Suffield (BATUS) to support training and experimentation with robotic and autonomous systems, counter-uncrewed aerial systems, and other enabling capabilities across its 2,700 km² training area, reflecting lessons learned from Ukraine.

BATUS provides a unique environment in which to train and test against realistic threats, including through greater freedom to operate at scale across speed, height and electromagnetic spectrum parameters. This enables the Army to develop and evaluate emerging approaches to warfare, including the integration of uncrewed systems, electronic warfare, loitering munitions and counter-uncrewed aerial systems in a contested environment.

As outlined in the Defence Investment Plan, future investment will make greater use of the site's size, scale and freedom of manoeuvre, supporting the accelerated development and delivery of uncrewed systems capability.

I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave him on 14 July 2025, to Question 65663:

Project Wavell is the Army’s means to deliver force development transformation to 2030 and beyond towards an Army designed and organised for high-intensity warfighting. This is being implemented through an incremental approach that sequences delivery against the changing operational demand.

The Strategic Defence Review and Defence Diplomacy Strategy set out the importance of maintaining and deepening our alliances and partnerships. The Ministry of Defence is taking a more deliberate, targeted and coherent approach to its international relationships with a range of allies and partners, enabling us to build world-beating capabilities, rally international support to our priorities, pursue export opportunities and strengthen our hand in competition with adversaries.

In the Middle East, our relationships are enabled through our persistent military footprint in the region, temporary deployments, security assurances, and increased joint capability development. We also advocate for increased burden sharing and intelligence exchanges with regional partners.

In the Indo-Pacific, we are focusing on capability and technology collaboration, military training and exercises, and intelligence sharing with key partners, including making the most of our membership of the Five Power Defence Arrangements, while seeking to maintain a persistent military presence.

In Africa, our support to partners promotes peace and stability and addresses upstream threats to UK and our allies’ interests. This includes deployments in Kenya and Somalia, support to UN missions and episodic tri-service deployments across the continent to conduct joint training and capability development activity.

In South America, we maintain our relationships with regional partners and allies through military co-operation and a persistent military forward presence. We have permanent deployments in the South Atlantic through British Forces South Atlantic Islands where we have two overseas bases (in the Falkland Islands and Ascension).

The Defence Investment Plan commits £400 million to deliver a suite of inexpensive, expendable autonomous systems and weapons to rapidly enhance the lethality of the Army, Commando Force and Special Forces.

The Land Lethality Pipeline will be focused on delivering rapidly increased lethality in the range bracket of approximately 0-100km. This could include the types of capabilities commonly seen in use in Ukraine (e.g. radio controlled First-Person View drones, fibre optic First-Person View drones, 'dropper drones,' and beyond line-of-sight missile systems), as well as more novel emerging technologies and protection such as counter drone defences). The precise nature and balance of these options will be announced at a future date.

As part of the ongoing Army Reform programme, the former Field Army Headquarters, which was responsible for the generation, preparation and employment of Land Forces, has been merged with Army Headquarters to form a single unified command. This streamlined headquarters connects operational demand, warfighting development and force design, ensuring that the Army’s structures, capabilities and resources are driven by the missions it must deliver for NATO, Defence, and the Nation. More than just a structural change, the new headquarters clearly links operational design with force design, supports faster capability integration, reduces duplication, and strengthens the Land Forces’ warfighting readiness. This critical shift in structure positions the Army to deliver the Defence Investment Plan at pace.