To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what recent assessment he has made of whether the UK has the necessary facilities to undertake the full spectrum of trials that will be needed to qualify the Challenger 3 main battle tank.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, for what reason the first pre-production Challenger 3 main battle tank was sent to Germany for trials.

The UK has the necessary facilities to undertake Challenger 3 trials and most of the trial activity will take place in the UK. The first pre-production vehicle was sent to Germany for a small number of trials that use Rheinmetall proprietary ammunition which would not be cost effective to clear on UK ranges for important but limited trial use. The remainder of the Challenger 3 prototypes will undergo full trialling in the UK, including firing trials.