'Iron Dome' costing £10 billion could protect London from missile attacks, says ex-RAF chief

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An ‘Iron Dome’ built with £10 billion funding could stop London being hit by some missile attacks, says a former RAF chief.

But Air Marshall Greg Bagwell, ex-Deputy Commander, RAF Air Command, said an Israel -style defensive shield on that scale would not be big enough to safeguard the whole of the UK.

The Conservatives, at their annual conference in Birmingham , have proposed a new air and missile defence system designed to protect Britain and its overseas bases from potential military attacks.

“You might be able to protect certain key sites, certain strategic areas, London would be an example, but of course that's not enough,” ex-RAF chief Mr Bagwell told Time Radio.

“If you've got military bases all around the country, you've got power stations, you've got critical infrastructure dotted around the country, then you're really going to have to try and cover the entire area, which is challenging.”

He stressed that an “Iron Dome” could stop short-range missiles .

But he explained that the US plans for such a shield could cost between $200 billion (£151 billion) to $1 trillion dollars (£757 billion).

Earlier this year, former National Security Adviser Lord Sedwill told The Standard that an Iron Dome system covering the entire country would not be practical, but suggested similar protection could be deployed around London , key cities and military bases.

“We certainly need proper air defences,” he said.

“The Gulf countries have developed systems quite like that.”

Lord Sedwill, who also served as Cabinet Secretary from April 2018 to September 2020, made the comments while warning that Britain needed to bolster its defences in an increasingly dangerous international environment .

Under the Conservative proposal, the so-called ‘Britannia Shield’ would use a network of radar and command-and-control systems to detect incoming attacks, alongside interceptor missiles and counter-drone capabilities.

Announcing the pledge on the third day of the Conservative Party conference in Birmingham, Kemi Badenoch accused Labour of failing to keep the country safe.

The Conservatives said the proposed system would be designed to protect the UK, its sovereign territories and British military bases overseas.

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The Tory leader said: “The world will not wait for Britain to get ready. War has returned to Europe. Missiles and drones are transforming warfare in the Middle East .

“Cheap weapons can now threaten cities, military bases and critical infrastructure in ways that would have sounded like science fiction a generation ago.”

She added: “The threat is here. Britain must be ready. And Britannia Shield will help make sure we are.”

The proposal comes amid concerns that Iranian missiles could have the range to reach London , following an attempted attack by Tehran on the UK-US Diego Garcia base more than 2,300 miles in the Indian Ocean earlier this year.

The Israeli military claimed the missiles were capable of travelling around 4,000km (2,485 miles), potentially putting dozens of countries across Europe, Asia and Africa within range including London and the UK.

The best known “Iron Dome” is the one built by Israel to intercept short-range rockets, shells and mortars.

Defensive batteries, with three or four launchers armed with 20 interceptor missiles , aim to down hostile projectiles at ranges of between two miles and around 40 miles from the units.