Tories pledge £10 billion ‘Britannia Shield’ to shield UK from missiles and drones

At a Tory conference, Kemi Badenoch unveiled a £10 billion one outlet air-defence project called Britannia Shield, modeled on Israel’s Iron Dome, intended to shield the United Kingdom, its territories and overseas bases from missiles and drones. She argued that emerging threats from Russia and Iran require a rapid response, accusing Labour of failing to meet defence spending targets. Defence spokesman James Cartlidge said the integrated radar, command and interceptor network could be operational within five years and would be one of the biggest UK military programmes since the Cold War.

The announcement comes after Russian drones violated Moldovan airspace and Iranian-linked attacks on RAF facilities, highlighting perceived gaps in Britain’s current air-defence capability. A recent Commons defence committee report warned the UK has “next to nothing” compared with allies. Labour’s Andy Burnham defended his government’s record, claiming it is delivering the largest sustained defence-spending increase since the Cold War.