Luke Pollard
UK Minister for the Armed Forces confirming defence procurement decisions.
Last refreshed: 18 July 2026 · Appears in 1 active topic
What is Luke Pollard's role in Britain's shift from crewed minehunters to robot ships?
Timeline for Luke Pollard
Confirmed the UK will procure three offshore support vessels jointly with Norway
Autonomous Systems: Land & Sea: UK to buy three Norway mothershipsBackground
Luke Pollard, the UK's Minister for the Armed Forces, confirmed on 17 July 2026 that Britain will procure three offshore support vessels jointly with Norway as the next tranche of the Mine Hunting Capability programme, setting aside GBP 90 million within a wider GBP 1.3 billion autonomous mine-countermeasures effort.
A Labour MP for Plymouth Sutton and Devonport, Pollard has held the armed forces brief since Labour's return to government, with day-to-day responsibility for equipment procurement, personnel and the Royal Navy's surface fleet. Plymouth's naval dockyard sits inside his constituency, giving him a direct political stake in Royal Navy shipbuilding decisions.
The Norway mothership announcement is one of several procurement calls he has confirmed during the Royal Navy's shift from crewed minehunters to autonomous systems, placing him at the political centre of a multi-billion-pound rebuild of Britain's mine-countermeasures fleet.
Who is Luke Pollard?
What did Luke Pollard announce about mine hunting ships?
Why is Luke Pollard involved in Royal Navy shipbuilding decisions?
