UK defences ‘not adequate’ say military experts as threat of ballistic missiles from Iran assessed
Military experts have warned that Britain does not have sufficient means to stop ballistic missiles fired from Iran; but they also expressed doubts about Iran’s ability and desire to carry out such an attack.
They claimed that British defenses lacked the ability to shoot down ballistic missiles, that the systems they had were at sea and that their numbers were too small to be fully effective.
This comes after the Israeli military warned that Iranian missiles posed a threat to European cities including London, Paris and Berlin, following a failed attack on the British military base Diego Garcia.
The base in the Chagos Islands is 3,800 km (2,360 miles) from Iran, beyond previous estimates of the range of Iran’s missiles.
On Sunday morning, senior government minister Steve Reed insisted Britain was safe, saying Israel’s threat was exaggerated and an attempt to rally support for war. Hours later, a Ministry of Defense (MoD) spokesman further amplified Mr Reed’s comments, saying the country had the resources to “defend the UK from any attack”.
However, some military experts have suggested that Britain could be left defenseless if Iran had the capacity to attack.
Professor Michael Clarke, chief executive of the Royal United Services Institute think tank, said: Independent: “Can Britain defend itself against ballistic missiles that could come from anywhere, from Russia to Iran? The answer is absolutely no. We have nothing.”
He said the only line of defense the UK had was the Sea Viper systems carried on the Royal Navy’s Type 45 destroyers, which can counter ballistic missiles. Mr Clarke added that one of the six destroyers, HMS Dragon, had been ordered to Cyprus, while the other three were in port and effectively out of action.
But speaking on Sky News’ Sunday Morning with Trevor Phillips programme, Mr Reed said: “We have systems and defenses in place to keep the UK safe and that will continue to happen.”
The housing secretary declined to say how close the Iranian missiles came to Diego Garcia, but said the fact that one was intercepted and the other failed showed “our defensive capabilities were accurate.”
Mr Clarke also said he doubted Iran had the missile range to reach the UK. “I’m not sure if they were able to reach Diego Garcia. We don’t know. The fact that they tried, it could just be a political gesture,” he said.
Former NATO commander and British Army Chief of Staff, retired Brigadier General Ben Barry, said Britain’s defense system was “not adequate” against the threat of weapons such as ballistic missiles.
he said Independent: “The UK’s ability to counter ballistic missiles, cruise missiles and drones is not sufficient to protect the UK homeland, and it is not clear whether it is sufficient to protect UK troops stationed overseas where there is a serious threat.
“If an enemy had ballistic missiles that could reach the UK, having only three ships would mean protection was quite minimal. One of them could sit on the Thames covering London, but there would be difficult choices about what to do with the other two.”
Mr Barry, who is now a fellow at the International Institute for Strategic Studies, said that if Iran attacked the UK the defense force would “have the option of attempting to attack the missile launchers. But to do so it would have to actually join the war alongside the US and Israel”. So far the UK has said it only supports defensive action in the conflict.
“You could argue that this would be pre-emptive self-defence, but in practice co-ordinating RAF aircraft with Israeli and US aircraft looking for missile launches would be very risky to do so unilaterally,” he said.
A Ministry of Defense spokesman said: “We have the resources we need to defend the UK against any attack, whether from our own territory or from abroad. The UK is ready 24/7 to defend itself.”
“Working with our NATO allies, the UK is implementing a layered approach to air and missile defence, provided by Royal Navy, British Army and Royal Air Force assets equipped with a range of advanced capabilities.
“This government has prioritized the need for air and missile defense for the UK’s national security after years of underfunding, and that is why last June, following recommendations in the Strategic Defense Review, we announced up to £1 billion in new funding to improve air and missile defense and keep the UK safe.
“This includes a new £118 million contract announced last year for the delivery of six state-of-the-art Land Ceptor missile systems capable of hitting a tennis ball-sized object traveling at twice the speed of sound as part of the Sky Saber system.”
