A Conservative government would spend £10 billion over ten years on an integrated air and missile defence system for the United Kingdom, built to stop drones and long-range missiles reaching British soil, according to the party.
James Cartlidge, the Shadow Defence Secretary, announced the plan in his speech to the Conservative conference in Birmingham on Tuesday, giving it the name Britannia Shield and describing it as the most significant upgrade to British air defence for generations.
He said: “It’s called Britannia Shield, a fully integrated, multi-layered missile defence system, capable of protecting our nation from drone and missile attack. With a ten-billion-pound budget, this would be one of Britain’s most significant military programmes since the cold war.
“But one that is totally necessary because of the threats we face. And only possible because of our willingness to take the tough decisions to fund defence.”
The system is structured around three functions the party calls sense, decide and effect. Sensing means new advanced radars, which Mr Cartlidge said would be movable around the country to improve their survivability and coverage. Deciding means upgrades to command and control systems so that information from across British defences can be pulled together and a response chosen quickly. The effect is interception, and the party says the largest share of the money would go on deep stockpiles of interceptor missiles alongside counter-drone capabilities.
The money works out at around £1 billion a year added to the Defence Investment Plan for integrated air and missile defence. The Conservatives say a minimum deployable capability would be delivered within a first term, and the remaining investment would expand the system over the following five years, and that construction would begin on day one in office without waiting for a defence review.
Kemi Badenoch, the party leader, said: “If a missile or drone is launched at Britain, we do not get a second chance to wish we had prepared.
“Britannia Shield will invest £10 billion in the radar, missiles and technology needed to detect these threats and stop them before they reach British soil. This is what a strong govt is meant to focus on. Families can make their own choices. Businesses can build and innovate. But only government can defend the country.”
The spending is to come from the party’s commitment to reach three per cent of GDP on defence by 2030, which it says would provide more than £10 billion a year above the government’s plans and would be funded by welfare reform and reprioritising existing expenditure. Britannia Shield would account for roughly a tenth of that additional money.
The Conservatives set the announcement against what they say is a far smaller government commitment, putting new funding for missile defence in Labour’s Defence Investment Plan at £790 million over ten years. That figure is the party’s own reading of the plan, and the government has not responded to the announcement.
Mr Cartlidge also drew a comparison with the Second World War, invoking Air Chief Marshal Sir Hugh Dowding and the radar system built in the 1930s. “Dowding didn’t wait for the Messerschmitts to start flying over Kent, he developed his world leading radar system in the 1930s,” he said. “He took the threat seriously. And we were ready when it came. And we will be ready too.”
He argued the programme is about deterrence as much as defence, since an adversary who knows Britain can defend itself and preserve its ability to retaliate is less likely to attack in the first place. A Shahed drone, built in Iran, launched by Russia against Ukraine and brought down by Ukrainian forces, was suspended above the conference hall during the speech.
Of course I welcome any pledge from the Tories to enhance our capabilities. But the Tories have a long history of using rhetoric that appeals to their voter base, but unable or unwilling to implement it in government because the Wets in the party won’t let them. I doubt half the stuff Kemi announces will ever see the light of day even if she becomes PM.
I think it’s pretty obvious the Tories read UKDJ comments section because this is very much along the lines of proposals made here after General Richard Barron’s ridiculous claim of needing £80 billion. 😀
The UK could use around 6 tethered aerostats to provide near continuous look down radar coverage of the entire British isles. That could be linked up with CAMM and CAMMM MR batteries to provide complete protection against low flying cruise missiles and large drones. Around 8 SAMP/T NG batteries can provide near complete coverage of the UK mainland from MRBM’s and a single arrow 3 battery paired with German’s system could provide exoatmospheric coverage from ICBM’s. You can do all that for £10 billion. We already have mid range interception from NATO SM3 systems in Poland and Romania.
£1 billion a year for such a system is nothing. The defence budget has already been increased by £26 billion a year between 2024 and 2029 so we are talking less than 4% of the increase in Defence spending to do this or 1.2% of the budget in 2029.
It really shows where the MoD priorities lie that we are not doing this. We still spend tens of billions on expeditionary war capabilities based around fighting Americas wars while allowing our own countries defences to be neglected under the presumption that America will have our back.