𝓤𝓷𝓲𝓽𝓮𝓭 𝓝𝓮𝔀𝓼

After hearing precious little about defence in the party conferences, Kemi Badenoch unveiled a bold vision to face today’s threats. The Conservative leader confirmed plans for a “Britannia Shield” to protect the country against long-range missiles and drones, if the party won the next general election.

This has long been a gaping hole in Britain’s defences, and one which could be catastrophic if exploited. Last year’s Strategic Defence Review (SDR) outlined as such. As it stands, our only defence against ballistic missiles are six Type 45 destroyers.

To shoot down these missiles, these £1billion ships would firstly have to be operational — something which history tells us is easier said than done — and within around 70 miles of the attack. It means much of Britain would be defenceless to such an assault. London would effectively be a sitting duck, unless one of the Type 45s was permanently tasked with protecting the capital. A reassuring thought for when I’m next in the Express’ Canary Wharf HQ.

We do have some capabilities against other aerial threats. The ground-based Sky Sabre air defence system can intercept cruise missiles, jets and drones up to a maximum of about 15 miles away. While the Rapid Sentry system has already proven capable. It was used by RAF Regiment troops to wipe out more than 100 Iranian drones at the height of the Middle East conflict.

RAF jets also showed their ability to shoot down drones, however this is not a particularly cost-effective solution. Despite this, it is thought we would still struggle to fend off waves of drones like Ukraine has to against Russia on an almost daily basis.

This is why Ms Badenoch’s announcement is such a welcome one. The bigger question is of course finding the funds because air defence is not cheap. The Tories have pledged investing £10 billion over 10 years in Britannia Shield, comprising a network of radar, command and control systems and interceptor missiles. It would also be rolled out to overseas bases.

While experts will debate whether this is the best use of resources to revamp our depleted Armed Forces, Ms Badenoch has at least shown her party are serious on defence.