Conservatives pledge £10bn for UK missile and drone shield

The Conservatives say Britannia Shield would combine advanced radar, upgraded command-and-control systems, interceptor missiles and counter-drone capabilities. They initially compared it with Israel’s Iron Dome, but party leader Kemi Badenoch later told the BBC that they were not building an Iron Dome: the proposed system would be designed for the threats Britain faces. [1]

Badenoch said the £10bn would be spread over ten years, at £1bn a year, within the party’s commitment to spend 3% of GDP on defence by 2030. She said welfare changes and shifting other spending, including money for net-zero research, would help fund the plan. Those savings have not been set out in a detailed costing in the BBC’s report. [1]

The price depends heavily on what the shield would cover. Gen Sir Richard Barrons told MPs earlier this year that an entry-level Iron Dome would probably cost £80bn over ten years, though that was an estimate for a differently described system. RUSI senior fellow Sidharth Kaushal told the BBC that £10bn would probably cover what he considered the UK’s needs, but probably not a system with the multiple layers of Israel’s defences. [1]