Asked by
To ask His Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of
HMS Diamond shooting down a suspected attack drone over the Red
Sea on 16 December 2023.
The Minister of State, Ministry of Defence (The ) (Con)
Your Lordships will be aware that my right honourable friend the
Secretary of State for Defence will shortly update the other
place on recent events in the Red Sea. I will not pre-empt that
Statement. While on patrol in the Red Sea on 16 December 2023,
HMS “Diamond” shot down an uncrewed aerial vehicle which was
targeting merchant shipping. This is the first surface-to-air
engagement by a Royal Navy vessel since 1991. The Houthis have
repeatedly carried out dangerous and destabilising attacks
against shipping and continue to do so. Our aim remains to
de-escalate tension, but we will not hesitate to defend lives and
the free flow of commerce in the face of such continued
threats.
(Lab)
My Lords, we look forward to the Statement on the Red Sea later,
and I accept the Minister’s point about not pre-empting any
questions on that. In paying tribute to the crew of HMS “Diamond”
and all their work over the last few weeks and months, I will ask
the Minister about press reports about concerns around HMS
“Diamond” and other ships not having a land-attack capability.
What assessment have the Government made on what they will do
about the fact that so many other ships do not have the
land-attack capability to attack the bases that are launching the
drones in the first place?
The (Con)
My Lords, I welcome the congratulations and commitment of the
other Benches to the service of the individual men and women. As
I understand it, no two warships are exactly the same; they have
different capabilities that overlap, and they complement each
other and the international force with which we are operating.
There is no worry about the effectiveness of their
capability.
(CB)
My Lords, firing surface-to-air missiles at drones is a very
expensive way of attacking relatively cheap and numerous targets.
There have been reports of successful UK tests of much cheaper
laser-based defensive systems. Can the Minister assure the House
that research into such systems will be pursued vigorously, and,
if successful, will be translated into both operationally and
commercially effective solutions?
The (Con)
I thank the noble and gallant Lord for his question; that is a
very good point. When firing an expensive missile at a cheap
drone, you are not protecting the missile; you are protecting
half a billion pounds-worth of equipment behind you—that is
certainly worth it. As your Lordships know, we have invested a
large amount of money in drone and missile technologies, and we
will incorporate that in all future designs.
of Newnham (LD)
My Lords, the Minister said that he does not want to comment on
the Statement that is about to arrive, so I will take him in a
slightly different direction. To what extent have His Majesty’s
Government assessed the requirements for the Navy in the light of
the drone strike on 16 December? Given the very worrying concerns
raised by the report of the Defence Committee in the other place,
Ready for War?, which points out the difficulties with the Type
26 delays and the power improvement project for the Type 45s, we
were very fortunate that HMS “Diamond” is in the region and
seaworthy. What assessment are His Majesty’s Government carrying
out about making urgent reforms to the Navy to ensure that we are
as protected as we need to be?
The (Con)
My Lords, the First Sea Lord and his team are fully aware of the
situation and are keeping as many ships at sea as we can at any
one time. There is obviously a maintenance programme that must be
adhered to and upgrading programmes that follow the latest
technology. All the learnings from this latest situation in the
Red Sea are being built in as rapidly as possible to all future
plans.
(Con)
My Lords, bombing the launch sites in Yemen makes sense,
particularly if they are using Iranian weapons and rockets, if
they are advised by the Iranians, and if some Iranians themselves
are even involved in the launch. That is getting near the right
target. Will the Minister and his colleagues bear in mind that
southern Yemen is not so dominated by the Houthis? There are very
many people there, for example, who are very favourable to this
country and have been for years. Therefore, we should take great
care that the bombing aimed at the launch sites does not descend
on people who are favourable to Britain and puzzled as to why
they should be bombed at all.
The (Con)
I thank my noble friend for his question. The accuracy of the
bombing is very precise, very limited and specifically targeted
at weapons that are being, or are about to be, prepared to be
used. As far as we know, that has been successful, and there has
been very limited collateral damage. We completely agree that
there is a large part of Yemen which is favourable towards us. In
fact, we provide quite a lot of aid—although not as much as we
did, as noble Lords have raised before—to support the Government
of Yemen.
(Lab)
My Lords, being under constant air attack over a period time is,
as I know from bitter experience, exhausting. What the people on
HMS “Diamond” are doing is amazing, and I share the Minister’s
statement that we should recognise how well they have done there.
However, it is no good continually shooting down things that are
being shot at you—which we are doing very successfully, and
rather better than we did in the Falklands, because the systems
are better; you have to go for the targets on shore. Therefore, I
support the Government’s point that we must show that we cannot
just sit there and take this damage. My question relates to
tiredness. The people on-board will get very tired and they will
need to be replaced. I am concerned about the number of ships we
have to rotate through, should this go on for a long time. Does
the Minister consider that we have enough ships to rotate through
there, should things escalate, and to fulfil our commitments in
other places in the world, such as in the Falklands, off Guyana,
in the Gulf and elsewhere?
The (Con)
The noble Lord asks a good question about the total scope and
scale of His Majesty’s Navy and how long this might go on for.
Perhaps I might turn the question around. If we were to do
nothing, and provide no support, we would weaken international
security and damage the global economy, and it would suggest that
any British vessel is fair game. That is just not acceptable.
Ships are available as replacements and to be part of the
international task force. It is precisely that; it is an
international task force, and integrated, particularly with the
Americans who are leading it. Between us, we will certainly have
sufficient funds.
(Con)
My Lords, in view of the question of the noble Lord, Lord West,
do we not need further assistance from our allies in Europe? In
particular, what about the French, who have a fleet? Have they
been asked for help and have they offered it?
The (Con)
My noble friend makes a very good point. The French are extremely
supportive, but of course it is each sovereign nation’s decision
whether or not to become lethally involved.
(Lab)
My Lords, given the importance of Sea Viper—the missile that was
used to shoot down these drones—to our operational capacity, what
plans do we have to follow the example of the United States and
prioritise work on a transportable rearming mechanism? This is a
technological advance that would allow HMS “Diamond” and other
vessels to reload vertical launch missiles at sea, rather than
putting into port as they presently have to do.
The (Con)
My Lords, that is a very good point. Sea Viper is extremely
effective, and there is a new version, which I think is called
Sea Viper Evolution. A very substantial amount of money—about
£400 million— is being spent to upgrade that. Rearming at sea is
something I am not particularly knowledgeable about, so I will
find out and write to the noble Lord.
(Con)
My Lords, given that there have been protests on our streets
supporting the Yemeni attacks, and given that the Houthi’s
slogans include “Death to America”, “Death to Israel” and
“Victory to Islam”, why are the Houthis not designated as a
terrorist group, given that these acts are clearly acts of
terrorism? Are the Government not trying to proscribe the Houthis
and their backers in Iran, the IRGC, to help stop these kinds of
protests, which are supporting such terrorist actions?
The (Con)
My Lords, this question is raised fairly regularly, and of course
it is something which is under constant consideration. These are
difficult decisions to take. However, in the meantime, we will
continue to take action that is necessary, limited, legal—it is
very important that it is legal—and proportionate in terms of
self-defence and freedom of navigation, and indeed protecting
lives.
