Tories pledge £10bn British 'Iron Dome' air defence system

The UK's existing Sky Sabre air defence system, seen in 2022 at the Royal Artillery's change of colours parade at Baker Barracks, Thorney Island The Conservatives have pledged to invest £10bn in a British "Iron Dome", inspired by Israel's elaborate air defence system, to defend the UK if they win the next general election. The party said the "Britannia Shield" would offer the UK an integrated network of radar, command and control systems, as well as interceptor missiles. In a speech at the Tory conference on Tuesday, shadow defence secretary James Cartlidge will describe it as "the most significant upgrade to UK air defence for generations". Defence Secretary Wes Streeting said the Tories had an "abysmal record" of defending Britain during their 14 years in power, adding: "They owe Britain an apology, not another lecture." The party said the air defence system would be capable of defending the UK's critical national infrastructure, military bases and sovereign territories from sophisticated threats. Speaking to BBC Breakfast, Conservative party leader Kemi Badenoch said that the £10bn would be split over ten years, with £1bn allocated each year for the project. Badenoch said the system would not be "exactly what Israel has" and told the BBC the UK needs to start "thinking ahead" to ensure it can protect itself against hostile missiles and drones. She said she had been listening to figures like Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and following the impact of the war in Iran on Gulf countries when crafting her plans. "Warfare is changing," she said. "It isn't just missiles coming from very far afield anymore, what we are seeing with drone technology is that people can get close enough to fire drones at the UK." The Tories added the proposal would strengthen the UK's air defence systems at a time when Nato allies have warned they are facing repeated Russian drone incursions. The party also cited a report from the defence committee of MPs last November which said the UK was lagging behind its European counterparts in having a plan to defend itself and overseas territories from a military attack. The UK's existing Sky Sabre system has previously been deployed in Poland as part of its support for Ukraine The Conservative Party said its "Britannia Shield" would have three components - new advanced radar systems, upgraded command and control systems to integrate information from across Britain's defences and rapidly decide a response, and new interceptor missiles as well as counter-drone capabilities. The three-tiered design of the proposal is similar to the British Army's current Sky Sabre , external air defence system. This system - which can intercept munitions and aircraft as well as integrate with wider air defences - was deployed by the UK to the Middle East earlier this year for defensive action against Iranian attacks. Prof Steven Barrett, CEO of Cambridge Aerospace which has been developing interceptor missiles, told the BBC £10bn was a "significant commitment" but the exact cost of the project would depend on the detail of the Conservatives' proposal. He said that it would not be practical for the system to defend "every square inch" of UK territory and a more plausible set up would cover "significant parts of the population in key high density areas". He also said there needed to be a focus on protecting critical national infrastructure, adding that a" huge amount of damage" could be done if data centres used by transport and health systems came under attack. In his speech at the conference in Birmingham, Cartlidge will say: "With a £10bn 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." Streeting said in response: "They [the Conservatives] cut the Army to its smallest size since Napoleon and left a £17 billion hole in the equipment plan. "Their own defence secretary, Ben Wallace, admitted our Armed Forces had been 'hollowed out and underfunded'." The Conservatives said their plan would be funded within their existing commitment to spend 3% of GDP on defence by 2030, paid for by welfare reform and reprioritisation of existing expenditure. Prime Minister Andy Burnham has been under pressure to set out how he will reach Nato's 3.5% of GDP spending target by 2035, up from an estimated 2.6% this year. The current Labour government's Defence Investment Plan includes more than £350m to double the number of Sky Sabre systems operated by the British Army, with ground-based air defence sitting alongside air and maritime capabilities. What are Israel's Iron Dome and other missile shields? Germany says Russia behind Leipzig airport drone attack UK military jamming other nations' satellites to defend itself, BBC told UK missiles offer may help Ukraine - but they are not what Zelensky needs most Sign up for our Politics Essential newsletter to keep up with the inner workings of Westminster and beyond.