𝓤𝓷𝓲𝓽𝓮𝓭 𝓝𝓮𝔀𝓼

Ed Miliband’s wind farms interfere with radar-based defensive domes, senior defence sources have claimed. The UK lacks an equivalent to Israel’s “Iron Dome” which can intercept ballistic missiles at high altitude from 40 miles away. Recent conflict in the Middle East has raised questions about the UK’s defence capabilites.

According to the Daily Mail, military bosses have called for the Treasury to allocate around £10 billion to the system. So far, they have only been promised £1 billion. In comparison, Germany is spending £3.5 billion on an anti-missile system. The government has held back on a defence system which would see Milliband’s wind farm programme scaled back.

A source suggested this would present a “major obstacle for anti-missile systems because of the impact they have on the radar needed to guide them.”

Milliband wants to double England’s onshore wind capacity to 29 gigawatts by 2030. Miliband is the Labour MP for Doncaster North and the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero. To meet Net Zero targets, he has dedicated £1.1 billion a year to offshore wind developers, reports Daily Mail.

As reported by Daily Mail, the source says: “Wind farms are effectively giant chunks of metal that stand in the way of the tracking stations.

“It’s fair to say wind-farms and radar are not a great mix.”

They added that the UK is “really lagging behind other countries on this” but that ministers are warning of cost implications.

“Fine. But then what’s the cost of a missile landing in the middle of London, Manchester or Birmingham? We are sitting ducks,” they added.

Milliband’s wind turbines reflect electromagnetic pulses which are pinged out by radar equipment which could cause complications for detecting missiles. For system operators, this could cause background noise.

Israel reportedly leads in anti-drone technology, its Iron Dome can intercept and destroy short range rockets and artillery shells.

Sir Keir Starmer’s government has reportedly been reluctant to work closely with Tel Aviv given the strength of pro-Palestine feeling in the Labour Party.

A spokesperson for the MOD said: “We recognise the vital importance of air and missile defence to UK national security and that is why we’re investing up to £1billion to improve air and missile defence.

“As we build the next generation of large-scale offshore wind farms, we are looking at innovative ways to mitigate any impact on air defence and we have been able to mitigate the impacts of offshore wind farms with operational and technical solutions.”

Miliband had pledged to bring down energy bills while removing fossil fuels from the network by 2030. In 2025, the Tories announced that they would scrap the 2050 net zero target.

Miliband was previously the Leader of the Labour Party between 2010 and 2015, but stepped down after the General Election in 2015 which brought about David Cameron’s second term as Prime Minister.