In a new report, the Defence Committee said the Armed Forces would need to improve its ability to adapt to operate across increasingly demanding climatic conditions.

For example, military vehicles usually designed for temperatures up to 45°C have had to operate in Iraq and Afghanistan at well over 50°C. Warships, which have traditionally used the cooling effect of the seas to ensure engines operate effectively, are finding that the thermal blanketing effect of rising sea temperatures in the Persian Gulf is eroding the efficiency of existing naval engines.

According to the report, retrofitting existing ships to operate in disruptive ice would be expensive, and it is probably too late to fit strengthened bows to the yet-to-be-built Type 26 Batch 2 City-class frigates.

However, the design of the future Type 83 destroyers, which are planned replacements in the late 2030s for the existing Type 45s, is still at a very early stage and it would be possible to...