Streeting says Conservatives left £17bn equipment-plan shortfall
The UK Conservative Party has unveiled “Britannia Shield”, a proposed £10bn integrated air defence system the party says would defend critical national infrastructure, military bases and sovereign territories from “sophisticated threats” if returned to government at the next election. Shadow defence secretary James Cartlidge set out the plan in a speech to the Conservative Party conference in Birmingham on Tuesday, calling it “one of Britain’s most significant military programmes since the cold war” but “totally necessary because of the threats we face”.
The Conservatives have framed the proposal as a British counterpart to Israel’s “Iron Dome”. The party said the three-tiered system would consist of new advanced radar systems, upgraded command and control infrastructure to integrate information from across Britain’s defences and rapidly decide a response, and new interceptor missiles paired with counter-drone capabilities.
The design closely mirrors the British Army’s existing Sky Sabre air defence system, which can intercept munitions and aircraft and integrate with wider air defences. Sky Sabre has been deployed by the UK to the Middle East earlier this year for defensive action against Iranian attacks, and has previously been sent to Poland in support of Ukraine.
The announcement comes against a backdrop of repeated Russian drone incursions reported by NATO allies. The Conservatives 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 military attack.
Defence Secretary Wes Streeting rejected the proposal in sharp terms. “They cut the Army to its smallest size since Napoleon and left a £17 billion hole in the equipment plan,” he said, adding: “Their own defence secretary, Ben Wallace, admitted our Armed Forces had been ‘hollowed out and underfunded’.” Streeting accused the Conservatives of owing Britain “an apology, not another lecture”.
The Conservatives said the plan would be funded within the party’s existing commitment to spend 3% of GDP on defence by 2030, financed by welfare reform and reprioritisation of existing expenditure. The proposal does not address NATO’s higher 3.5% of GDP spending target, which member states have agreed to work toward by 2035.
Prime Minister Andy Burnham has faced sustained pressure to set out how his government will reach the 3.5% target, up from an estimated 2.6% of GDP 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.