I fully support maintaining the full spectrum of capabilities at the Royal Navy’s disposal. The Royal Navy has cutting edge ships and submarines capable of delivering a strong global presence and protecting the UK’s shores and interests, funded by an increased Defence budget.

As you may be aware, Royal Navy ships often work in task groups with a range of offensive and defensive assets, including submarines, surface ships, helicopters, and the Queen Elizabeth-class carriers. HMS Queen Elizabeth, the first of the UK's two new carriers, spent most of 2021 on her maiden deployment, leading her carrier strike group on a 20,000-mile voyage to the Indo-Pacific and back.

In 200 days, the carrier strike group visited or exercised with 44 countries across three oceans, with the joint UK/USMC F35 air wing and UK helicopter squadrons flying over 2600 missions - a truly remarkable deployment. Surrounded by a ring of capability – including Type 45 destroyers, Type 23 anti-submarine frigates, tankers and storage ships – and exercising with our allies and partners along the way, the voyage demonstrated the UK’s dedication to our shared values and upholding the rules-based international order.

Rest assured, the Government is committed to ensuring the Royal Navy has the ships and capabilities required to fulfil defence commitments now and in the future. A new partnership between the UK and key NATO and Joint Expeditionary Force (JEF) ally, Norway, means the Royal Navy will receive the Naval Strike Missile (NSM). The NSMs are a fifth-generation missile using integrated sensors and autonomous target recognition to precisely strike enemy ships and targets on land at distances of more than 100 nautical miles (115 miles) at high subsonic speeds. This collaboration with Norway will result in more ships equipped with highly sophisticated missile systems which in turn will contribute to enhancing security in our areas of common interest.

Work is currently underway to deliver eight Type 26 anti-submarine warfare frigates and five Type 31 general purpose frigates. These new frigates will replace the Type 23. The Government has also committed to the next-generation warship, the Type 32, which will be designed to protect the UK's territorial waters and provide persistent presence overseas.

This major programme of investment will ensure the Royal Navy remains one of the world's most modern and powerful navies with a genuine global reach.