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Arctic: Marines

Asked by Ian RoomeLiberal DemocratMinistry of DefenceTabled Answered 8 July 2026UIN 14588

The question

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what steps his department is taking to progress the transformation of the UK Commando Force into a warfighting formation focused on the High North, including an increase in Royal Marine numbers deployed to the region.

Answered by Louise Sandher-Jones

The Government is continuing to transform the UK Commando Force into a more agile, lethal and technology-enabled warfighting formation, optimised for operations in the Euro-Atlantic and High North alongside NATO Allies. The £100 million announced for new transformative technologies is additional investment in the ongoing Commando Force Transformation programme and will fund, over four years, cutting-edge capabilities to support that transformation.

Final investment decisions will be made through programme prioritisation, informed by current programme success and lessons from ongoing conflicts all of which will strengthen the UK Commando Force’s ability to operate in the demanding High North environment.

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