What is ‘Britannia Shield’? UK Conservatives promise new air defence system
&imwidth=600&imheight=450&format=webp&quality=medium "What is ‘Britannia Shield’? UK Conservatives promise new air defence system")
What is ‘Britannia Shield’? UK Conservatives promise new air defence system Photograph: (AFP)
The UK Conservatives have pledged £10 billion for “Britannia Shield”, a proposed integrated air defence network of advanced radars, command systems, interceptor missiles and counter-drone capabilities. The party has described it as a “British Iron Dome” to protect the UK.
The Conservatives in UK have announced to invest £10billion in a new missile and drone defence system to defend the UK if they win the next general election in the country. The party has called the defence system as "Britannia Shield." It said that this would provide an integrated network of radar, command and control systems, as well as interceptor missiles. This proposed investment of £10 billion will be done over a decade, and it is aimed to deliver a minimal deployable shield within the party's first term in government if elected.
Announcing the pledge on the third day of the party’s annual conference in Birmingham, the leader of the opposition Kemi Badenoch accused Labour of failing to keep the country safe. “If a missile or drone is launched at Britain, we do not get a second chance to wish we had prepared. That is why today 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.”
In a speech at the Conservative Party conference on Tuesday (Oct 6), shadow defence secretary James Cartlidge said that this pledge is “the most significant upgrade to UK air defence for generations.” The Tories described their plans as "a British 'Iron Dome'", a reference to Israel's air defence system. Cartlidge also said: “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.”
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 air defence system.
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UK Defence Secretary Wes Streeting criticised the announcement and said that the Tories had an "abysmal record" of defending Britain during their 14 years in power. He added: “They owe Britain an apology, not another lecture.” Streeting also said: "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'."
