Kemi Badenoch has unveiled her vision for defending Britain, confirming plans for a “Britannia Shield” to protect the country against long-range missiles and drones if the Conservatives win the next general election. The announcement addresses what has long been a gaping hole in Britain’s defences, one that could be catastrophic if exploited.
Current gaps in UK air defence
Last year’s Strategic Defence Review (SDR) outlined the problem. As it stands, the only defence against ballistic missiles are six Type 45 destroyers. To shoot down these missiles, the £1billion ships would firstly have to be operational — something history suggests is easier said than done — and within around 70 miles of the attack.
This means much of Britain would be defenceless to such an assault. London would effectively be a sitting duck, unless one of the Type 45s was permanently tasked with protecting the capital.
Existing capabilities and limitations
There are some capabilities against other aerial threats. The ground-based Sky Sabre air defence system can intercept cruise missiles, jets and drones up to a maximum of about 15 miles away. The Rapid Sentry system has already proven capable, used by RAF Regiment troops to wipe out more than 100 Iranian drones at the height of the Middle East conflict.
RAF jets also showed their ability to shoot down drones, but this is not a particularly cost-effective solution. Despite this, it is thought Britain would still struggle to fend off waves of drones like Ukraine faces from Russia on an almost daily basis.
Britannia Shield funding and scope
The Tories have pledged to invest £10 billion over 10 years in Britannia Shield, comprising a network of radar, command and control systems and interceptor missiles. It would also be rolled out to overseas bases.
While experts will debate whether this is the best use of resources to revamp the depleted Armed Forces, Ms Badenoch has at least shown her party are serious on defence.
