§ Mr. BreedTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence what progress has been made on co-operation on the(a) SEAD capability and (b) electronic warfare; and if he will make a statement. [109348]
§ Mr. IngramThe United Kingdom continues to co-operate with Germany and Italy in a programme of `Twinning' of Tornado squadrons for SEAD roles, with all three nations participating in exercises and training. A new UK SEAD concept and policy is being developed which addresses co-operation issues. We have established an advanced UK-based SEAD exercise that will be held later this year and to which several nations have been invited; more will follow.
Within NATO, we are fully engaged in the development of an Electronic Warfare capability, contributing to NATO databases and the updates to NATO policy and doctrine. We also have a number of bilateral arrangements in place in this area to ensure continued co-operation, capability development, support and force protection.