The Ministry of Defence has confirmed that GBP 14 million in combined government and industry funding has already been committed this year to testing and development work under the Atlantic Bastion programme.
In a series of written answers to James Cartlidge MP, Defence Minister Luke Pollard said the forthcoming Defence Investment Plan will set the funding envelope for the programme. He reiterated that Atlantic Bastion capability options submitted for consideration include “a blend of uncrewed systems, underwater payloads, options to increase lethality, and improvements to crewed platforms.”
Asked how much of the pre-concept funding had been spent, how many contracts had been signed and how many orders placed as of 11 February 2026, Pollard did not provide specific figures. Instead, he said that while detailed information could not be disclosed due to commercial sensitivity, there had been significant industry engagement.
He confirmed that “combined Ministry of Defence and industry investment of £14 million [has been] already committed this year to testing and development.”
Pollard added that 26 consortia from the UK and Europe have submitted proposals to develop anti-submarine sensor technology for the programme. He also stated that 20 companies, ranging from major primes to technology-focused SMEs, have already showcased technology demonstrators.
£14m wow whheeee – that’ll frighten Mad Vlad.
The Tangerine Genius does actually have a point about our defence spending. It is a total joke.
Agreed.
Whenever I see the concept art that George uses for the headline picture I’m reminded of toy boats zipping around the Serpentine.
For £14m all you will get are some simulations and concept art.
And a really really hyper effective power point presentation.. and we know what a massive deterrent power point presentations are.. especially if you can follow it up with a really cracking airfix model at a trade show.
You may be onto something there.
Putin collects scale model aircraft carriers so he could be influenced by a really good Airfix Atlantic bastion set?
For £14m it should be possible to 3D print one?
Or maybe PowerPoint is one of the new RN effectors? If you did a really long PowerPoint presentation it would bore the enemy into submission. I know I have stopped death-by-PowerPoint meetings……
This £14m is just seedcorn funding to see what’s out there, what works and at what cost. Atlantic Bastion is just a PowerPoint slide show so far. To get it into the DIP, with a tangible.production plan.and funding stream, the staffs need to work through all the technical elements involved, the possible providers and the likely costs. There must be a big blank space holding up the DIP regarding funding for AB, as I doubt anyone really has a clue as to what the final bill will be.
Spending £14m on scoping the thing and putting some flesh on the bones sounds like money well spent. It’s essentially R&D at this stage. I would think a lot more will need to be spent over the coming year before they get to any kind of tangible working plan.