Former defence minister Tobias Ellwood has warned that a major UK city could be left completely defenceless against a 'mini-Pearl Harbor' drone attack launched from a rogue shipping vessel. The warning centres on Portsmouth, the UK's main naval hub, which Ellwood says is vulnerable to Iranian-style kamikaze drones smuggled into British waters.
Loophole in UK Air Defence
Ellwood told Express.co.uk that Iranian-manufactured Shahed drones could be unleashed from a 'shadow trawler' lurking just off the British coast. Because the low-flying weapons would bypass current detection systems, the UK would be left like sitting ducks. 'We have no air defence there,' he said. 'You could easily see Shahed drones - the Iranian-style ones that have already hit Akrotiri - being launched off a shadow trawler on the other side of the Isle of Wight, using GPS to glide straight in.'
How the Attack Could Unfold
Ellwood explained that the drones come in racks of five and are small enough to fit inside a standard shipping container. 'You could easily sail a trawler from international waters...fire these things, and we wouldn't react in time because they would be flying low. They could smack straight into our ships in Portsmouth. Boom - that is our own mini Pearl Harbor.' Russia has heavily relied on Iranian combat drones to terrorise Ukraine, and Ellwood fears Moscow could be the puppet master behind a highly deniable, proxy strike on the UK's doorstep.
Russia's Objectives
The ultimate goal of such an attack would be to shatter British resolve, spark mass panic, and force the government to abandon its allies abroad. Ellwood said: 'What they would do is try to persuade the British people that we should have nothing to do with Ukraine, that we should pull out, give it to Russia, and life will be quieter.' He warned that Vladimir Putin's regime wants to brew 'political discord' and weaponise public fear to upend British democracy, including 'hoping to help figures like Nigel Farage get into power because they see that the mainstream parties aren't strong enough.'
UK Vulnerability
Ellwood claims the UK is currently in the ultimate danger zone, as Russia knows British defences are lagging behind fast-moving modern technology. He argued Russia would attack now 'because the longer they wait, the more time we have to develop the capabilities to defend ourselves. Right now, we are particularly vulnerable, so it makes sense for them to hit us early.' Blaming a sluggish bureaucratic system for leaving the nation exposed, he said: 'Our procurement process takes months, if not years...By that time, the technology has already moved on.'
Lack of Public Pressure
Worse still, Ellwood claimed that while top brass are fully aware of the looming catastrophe, a lack of public pressure means the government is failing to act. 'Senior politicians and ministers are briefed on this, but because there's no public clamour for defence spending, it creates a fundamental challenge.' The chilling warnings are laid bare in Ellwood's new book, Ten Steps to Prevent World War 3, a 2026 release that warns a complacent West is blindly drifting into a catastrophic global conflict unless it urgently rebuilds its military might.
