Kemi Badenoch has pledged that a Conservative government would create a £10 billion national missile and drone defence system to protect British cities, power stations, Army bases, sovereign territories and military installations overseas.
The proposed Britannia Shield would combine radar, command and control systems, interceptors and counter-drone technology. The Conservatives say it could be operational within five years and would be modelled in part on Israel’s Iron Dome.
Announcing the plan, the Conservative leader accused Labour of failing to explain how it would meet its ambition to spend 3 per cent of gross domestic product on defence by 2030.
“The first duty of government is to defend the country and keep people safe. Labour are failing that basic test,” Mrs Badenoch said.
She added: “War has returned to Europe. Missiles and drones are transforming warfare in the Middle East. Cheap weapons can now threaten cities, military bases and critical infrastructure in ways that would have sounded like science fiction a generation ago.”
“That is why we are announcing Britannia Shield: a new national missile-and-drone defence system to protect the whole United Kingdom, our sovereign territories and British bases overseas,” she said.
Britannia Shield plan comes amid warnings over air defences
The Conservatives’ announcement comes after Russian drones and missiles reportedly threatened Moldova, with projectiles fired during an attack on Ukraine hitting a passenger bus across the border. Drones had also entered Moldovan airspace and scattered debris.
Kaja Kallas, the European Union’s foreign policy chief, said Europe had experienced a rise in Russian “hybrid attacks and sabotage attempts and airspace violations” in recent weeks.
“Russian missiles and drones violated Moldovan airspace again over the weekend. This is completely unacceptable,” she said.
James Cartlidge, the Conservative defence spokesman, is expected to set out further details at the party’s conference in Birmingham. He said the programme would be among Britain’s most significant military projects since the Cold War.
“With a £10billion budget, this would be one of Britain’s most significant military programmes since the Cold War,” he said. “But one that is totally necessary because of the threats we face.”
The proposal follows warnings from the Commons defence committee last year that Britain had “next to nothing” in air defences compared with its allies.
The security concerns were highlighted further by the reported withdrawal of US long-range bombers from RAF Fairford in Gloucestershire amid fears of an Iranian plot against the base. Russian drones have previously been seen over RAF Fairford and RAF Lakenheath in Suffolk.
The Kremlin has also warned that it would retaliate with “nuclear weapons” if Britain or Nato took military action against Russian territory, while Moscow threatened during the summer to target UK factories in response to Government support for Ukraine.
Iran is regarded by the Conservatives as a growing threat after drones launched by its proxies struck RAF Akrotiri in Cyprus and Tehran fired missiles at the Chagos Islands, home to the joint UK-US Diego Garcia military base.
Israel’s Iron Dome has been credited with intercepting hundreds of missiles and drones fired by Hezbollah, Hamas, the Houthis and Iran. The Conservatives acknowledge that duplicating the system in Britain would be difficult because the UK has a landmass 11 times larger and more major cities to protect.
The party has already promised to increase defence spending by £10 billion a year by reducing welfare spending.
A Labour spokesman said: “Andy Burnham’s Labour Government is delivering the biggest sustained increase in defence spending since the Cold War. Keeping Britain safe is the first priority of this Government.”
