Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what recent progress has been made on the Bowman programme; and what recent assessment he has made of the effectiveness of that programme. [41784]

Peter Luff MP; Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State: Bowman has proved its worth on operations in Iraq and Afghanistan. It is significantly more capable than predecessor systems, providing secure communications, increasingly capable situational awareness and battle management capability. Reports from theatre and from pre- and post-operational visits to units indicate that Bowman equipment has been well received and is highly effective.

The Ministry of Defence continues to upgrade the Bowman capability to reflect the advance of technology and the evolving needs of our people on operations. The current capability upgrade and obsolescence update will be used on operations in Afghanistan from spring 2011 and will be fully fielded by spring 2012.