Tag: Lord Campbell of Pittenweem

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Campbell of Pittenweem on 2016-01-12.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether their most recent estimate of the unit cost of the UK’s F-35Bs has been revised (1) upwards, or (2) downwards, as a result of updated information provided by the US Joint Strike Fighter programme.

Earl Howe

We continue to see a reduction in aircraft unit costs which is in line with the estimates shown in the annual US Selected Acquisition Report. The UK’s F-35 programme remains within its cost approval limit as detailed in the National Audit Office Major Projects Report 2015.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Campbell of Pittenweem on 2016-02-24.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they intend to acquire Zephyr high-altitude unmanned aerial vehicles, and if so, for what purpose.

Earl Howe

As part of our commitment to providing next-generation battlefield intelligence capabilities to the UK Armed Forces, the Ministry of Defence has contracted for the demonstration of two Zephyr Unmanned Aerial Vehicles. This contract will allow the UK to understand whether Zephyr can fulfil the requirement for high-altitude persistent surveillance capability as announced in the 2015 Strategic Defence and Security Review.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Campbell of Pittenweem on 2016-10-18.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they are proposing to introduce a new towed artillery system; and if so, what that system will be.

Earl Howe

The Army is undertaking a scoping project known as ‘Medium Wheeled Gun System’ to examine 155mm calibre towed and wheeled self-propelled options to provide a medium weight fire support capability within the future Strike Brigades. At the concept stage it was previously known as Strike 155; no decisions regarding the choice of system have yet been taken.

Project Congreve was a study conducted by the Defence Science and Technology Laboratory and initiated in 2014. Its objective was to determine options for all future surface-to-surface fire systems capability. The work on the Medium Wheeled Gun System has been informed by Project Congreve and the Strategic Defence and Security Review.