Select committee: Defence Committee
Recommendation 27
Third Report - “We’re going to need a bigger Navy”
Published 14 Dec 2021
Paragraph 184
Addressed to Ministry of Defence
Defence Committee The Navy: purpose and procurement All items in this report Report on parliament.uk ↗ Inquiry on parliament.uk ↗
Recommendation (the committee's words)
We welcome the Department’s ambition to bring new technology into the fleet and the opportunities that the large number of planned vessels offer. It provides an early test of the new Integrated Operating Concept. It is essential that NavyX and Defence Equipment & Support (DE&S) improve their ability to take emerging technology beyond the demonstrator phase and deliver it to the field. Digital systems should be prioritised more highly in procurement, with consideration given to them early in the design and build of new vessels. The Navy should plan as far as possible for them to be fitted flexibly into vessels and regularly upgraded to avoid capabilities becoming out of date. Development stage funding should be increased. We note the importance of space as an enabler for the Navy: the role it plays in delivering military capabilities will be considered as part of our dedicated space inquiry.
From: Defence Committee, Third Report - “We’re going to need a bigger Navy” (HC 168), paragraph 184, 14 December 2021
Government response
The government responded to the whole report on 25 February 2022 (deadline 14 February 2022).
Summary written by Accountability Index from the government's response. It is not the government's own words.The government welcomes the Defence Committee's report and sets out the Integrated Review commitments it says address the Royal Navy's role, fleet and shipbuilding, while declining to guarantee a pipeline of work for UK yards.
- On fleet size, the MOD says it is "confident it can realise the ambitious plans outlined in the IR", including up to five Type 32 frigates alongside five Type 31s, so that by 2030 frigates and destroyers "will increase beyond the current 18".
- On reporting, the department "will provide a single annual update to the Defence Committee" covering surface fleet availability and shipbuilding plans. On submarine availability it says it does not comment, as this "would, or would be likely to, prejudice" security.
- On Fleet Solid Support ships, the final manufacture contract "will be awarded to a UK business, either solely or as part of a consortium", with all three ships integrated in UK shipyards. The Contract Notice requires all three to be in service by 2032.
- On Carrier Strike, the government says it remains "on course" for Full Operating Capability in December 2023 and intends to "routinely deploy a CSG annually", with each deployment to be "bespoke" in composition and objectives.