Britain shoots down 40 Iranian drones as armed forces minister warns ‘we live in very dangerous times’
It emerged this afternoon that British pilots and gunners have destroyed more than 40 Iranian drones since the conflict began.
Armed Forces Minister Al Carns revealed the shocking figure as he praised Royal Navy and Royal Air Force pilots and crews on the ground for saving countless lives.
One-way suicide planes could have wreaked havoc in the Middle East had not UK forces intercepted their flights and used lessons learned from Russia’s attacks on Ukraine.
According to British officials, the Iranians are mirroring Russian tactics by launching large numbers of stupid drones to confuse defense systems so ballistic missiles can penetrate protective shields.
For security reasons, they refrained from providing information about where British teams shot down Iranian unmanned aerial vehicles in the region or what weapon systems were used.
However, it is known that British teams operate in Cyprus, Northern Iraq and the Gulf countries.
Armed Forces Minister Al Carns announced that British pilots and ground crews had destroyed more than 40 Shahed and other Iranian drones since the start of the conflict.
Shahed drones cost just £20,000 to build and are mass produced by Iran and Russia.
Al Carns said: ‘We are living in very dangerous times, there is a 30 per cent increase in Russian activity and we face an evolving crisis in the Middle East.
‘We continue to engage with partners and our staff are doing a great job. Pilots completed more than 650 hours of work and more than 40 drones were neutralized. ‘A huge amount of lives have been saved.’
Mr Carns also confirmed that Britain had discussed plans with its European allies to escort ships through the Strait of Hormuz, but only after a ceasefire between Iran, the US and Israel.
As part of this proposal, expert naval planners from the United Kingdom were sent to US Central Command headquarters.
Defense officials this afternoon emphasized that the situation is much more complex than in 1987 due to advances in crewless weapons systems.
During the ‘tanker wars’, 30 warships were required to escort cargo ships and oil tankers facing conventional weapons systems. Today, threats are more diverse and harder to counter.
Carns said: ‘We are in the very early stages of conceptualising what this might look like. The Minister of Foreign Affairs held talks with E5 partners.
‘There are a range of drones, magnetic, acoustic and fast attack vehicles and numerous asymmetric threats to consider. This will be a full-scale operation. It needs to be multinational and collaborative. ‘It’s going to be extremely complex.’
Another challenging factor, according to defense officials, is Iran’s rugged coastline, which provides protection from attacks on its small teams.
Behind the scenes, the UK cooperates with its allies, including the US, at military, intelligence and diplomatic levels.
An official said that there were no problems with the Americans at the operational level and said: ‘These relations are based on solid foundations. We’ve had planners at CENTCOM for decades. What we did was send in a few experts. We will continue to provide options to our decision-makers as the situation evolves.’
This time, it will take more than warships to escort cargo ships and oil tankers through the Bosphorus. Crewed and uncrewed aerial and underground systems will also be needed, Carns said. He declined to provide details about specific systems for security reasons.
