The UK government has confirmed it is considering air and missile defence capabilities for the homeland, including potential protection of major population centres and critical infrastructure.
Responding to a written question from Green Party peer Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle, Defence Minister Lord Coaker did not provide detail on specific plans or costs, but indicated that options are under active review.
“His Majesty’s Government continually monitors and assesses the threats to the United Kingdom,” he said.
Coaker added that “a range of air and missile defence capabilities are under consideration within the Defence Investment Plan,” suggesting that decisions on any future system will form part of the forthcoming spending and capability roadmap.
The response does not confirm whether the UK will pursue a dedicated land-based ballistic missile defence system, nor does it address potential costs or how interceptor stockpiles would be sustained.
The UK currently relies primarily on a mix of maritime-based air defence, allied capabilities and early warning systems, rather than a comprehensive ground-based missile shield comparable to those deployed by some NATO partners.
Is this a belated April Fools article?
It is quite genuine. The reply was dated April 1st 🙂
Ah yes the never ready Defence Investment Plan.
I was at the MoD in Whitehall in late 1997, when a senior guy was pushing for THAAD for the UK. The New Labour government was too CND heavy to consider that. Since then, there have been umpteen expensive GBAD/SAM studies, but nothing ordered. The UK needs to get off zero high end GBAD. Perhaps in stages, HM Treasury can cope with. A multi layer CAMM-MR, CAMM-ER, CAMM, system might provide the UK jobs Starmer would need to get the cost past his back benchers.
With the advent of Rapid Sentry, Sky Sabre and Aster 30 it looks as though Ukraine, the Gulf and c-uas are forging a ‘bottom up’ layered GBAD architecture. Just the outer BMD outer layers to sort out then?
Are you sure it’s wasn’t GBI instead of THAAD. 97 seems very early for THAAD.
THAAD was a post GW1 project, so timing might be ok. More surprised the US were willing to share!
Ok and where’s the money for it? Oh yeah it doesn’t exist
I take heart that a decision on land based missile interceptor capability is in the defence investment plan. I can only imagine that will be SAMP/T given how long the wait for Patriot and THAAD is. I could see potential for Leonardo to manufacture Kronos in the UK as part of any deal. It would also facilitate the ability to integrate CAMM in the same system.
Neither the article or the Minister said that.
This is the same Lord Coaker who knocked back the sensible addition of 30mm on the carriers. Let’s hope he’s a bit more sensible minded on GBAD. For example if France, Italy and Denmark have adopted Aster SAMP/T and others are looking at it why not for the UK? To be used in conjunction with other systems CAMM, LMM, counter drone, shared missile pools. What about NASAM’s? Where’s CAMM-MR at if at all? Over to you.
Lord Croaker is a Minister of State for Defence in the Lords, in other words he is very little if anything to do with decision making but he is available to answer questions in the Lords about minor matters. What’s more as he is unelected it’s not that important what he says or that he gets it right.
You may all have noticed that there are zero big announcements coming out of the HMG at the moment and unless something really serious happens it will stay that way till after the May elections.
So unless anything changes we may just find a mention of defence in the Kings Speech 13th May 🤷🏻
“considering”. That’s alright then. 🚀 No need to think about it until the 2030’s…
That means it in the in basket, I’ll get down the pile, find it, have a quick look, tick the box marked reviewed and stick it back in the in tray at the bottom.
👍😏
Off topic, but Flight Global reported a day or two ago that the UK has apparently received the final aircraft of the first batch of 48 F-35Bs.
Mike, do you know if we have put in a firm Tranche 2 order?
Not yet, it’s in the DIP 😀
It might be in the DIP then again, maybe not.
I do not know why I bothered reading this.
I tend to skip the dross.
The first cruise missile/drone hit these islands on 12th June 1944 and the first ballistic missile hit the UK on 8th September 1944. I am glad we are now ‘considering’ ground based defences against their modern equivalents.
If this government actually cared about air defence of Britain we never would have retired our T1 Typhoon.
This government? Get your head out of the right wing media propaganda and read actual facts. The decision was made in 2021!
it is finally sinking in.. If we get into a fight with Russia they will do four things
1) Gray warfare ( infrastructure sabotage, cyber etc)
2) political, cause division and political split ( they don’t care what we argue about they will be supporting every cause that causes a split) .
3) economic and sea denial.. lose control of the seas that attach your nation to the world you strangle the enemy in a slow death
4) strategic attack against infrastructure, civilian ( to create political tension) industrial ( to destroy the long term ability to wage war) and military ( to shape the preset tactical battle spaces)
To protect against number 4 you must have a good set of air defence..
To my mind because you have to protect civil and industrial infrastructure this element should be a civil defence function.. if the military take over it will distract from Air defence of task groups ( ground air and sea) as well as strategic air defence of the nation… so there should be essentially a civil air defence organisation ( supported in training by the raf ) that undertakes short range air defence of hospitals, power, logistics and industrial infrastructure.
That’s the only way you will get mass.. volunteers trained on cheap mass produced air defence ( this would likely be air defence drones) in a world where Russia could throw hundreds of long range cheap drones a day at any target.. traditional RAF jet based air defence is none viable.. 4 typhoon armed with 6 anti air missiles costing a million pounds each ( that you can make a couple of hundred of a year) will decimate 20 irreplaceable strategic bombers worth billions.. again 200 drones a day costing 20k that can be build in the 10,000s year year is a inevitable and unstoppable disastrous strategic defeat…
Unless the RAF, Navy and army take a big step back and realise everything has changed and that yes their high end capabilities are still very important and valuable ( Russia will still attack the UK with SSNs, surface combatants and strategic bombers throwing cruise missiles… it will still use armies in Eastern Europe)…. But if we have a spat it will plaster our infrastructure ( all of it) with hundreds of drones a day, it will use sabotage against any site ( likely with smuggled small drones).. it will use political warfare on the web and on the streets as well as getting leaders it wants in power, it will use cyber attacks on all elements of society..
The modern peer war is so far beyond the capabilities and paradigm of western military organisations.. its utter outside of their lane..
The Chinese paradigm of the war you truly win is the war “in which the enemy army never enters the field” is now more real in the 21c than ever ( internet, cyber, social media and drones etc) and the reality of peer war is so multi dimensional that modern western military paradigms are almost a recipe for defeat.. look at the US in its wars.. the greatest military power on the planet manages to loss every kinetic war it fights.. the Soviet union a vast military power was destroyed without a shot being fired by nato.. NATO has essentially be destroyed by political warfare creating internal conflict ( anyone who does not think the crisis of cohesion being suffered by the west was not fuelled by the 3 million strong Chinese political warfare machine, the Russian and Iranian troll farms.. is someone I have a bridge to sell to.)
The Uk needs structural changes that allow it to fight every day in all domains including anti drone warfare..but it needs to be a civil defence approach not a traditional military one… a whole society approach not a few lads sent to war.
Special Agent Orange has already been remotely activated to initiate para 2 and 3. Hopefully his battery will go flat before he wrecks to much.
Its all a bit pointless Jonathan.
We live on such a small island and its absolutely dependant on its motorway network.
All an adversary has to do as a precursor to military action is seriously damage the various motorway bridges of the M1, M4, M5 and M25 and you would bring the country and economy to a halt.
Failing that, in a shooting war, ballistic missile strikes at these key targets and we are effectively right up shite creek without a paddle.
Ballistic missile defence in depth will simply not happen, because they imply won’t fund it.
“His Majesty’s Government continually monitors and assesses the threats to the United Kingdom,”
Then does absolutely fu*k all about it……
The Government are considering it, ok. Join the long list of other defence things being considered. Standard every other day MOD realease about thinking about doing some thing, while doing nothing.
Is considering more positive than thinking about? The inertia gripping so much of this country is utterly unbelievable. The cabinet should have a weekend away to AbuDhabi then see if they are still “considering” it next week.
Awesome, another review, we field a formidable force of reviews 👍
Some form of permanent home defence is much needed! Probably mid range to cover whole of UK as well as some short range covering sttategic points and London. The UK defence situation is really bad and needs a lot of resources allocated – now!
Possibly not London, it doesn’t identify as National Capital these days, but as a separate state, I won’t mention its pro nouns because I would probably get arrested!
Extensive and layered Ballistic missile defence for Worcestershire is whats needed, ive just had new windows fitted and what them protected…..
Low level bullshit.
Seeing is believing