Britain has virtually no defence against ballistic missiles, says The Times

Britain has virtually no defence against ballistic missiles, says The Times Irina Martsiyash

Britain's territory is virtually unprotected from a possible attack using ballistic missiles. In particular, from the Russian “Oreshnik”.

This is causing concern among the countries of the North Atlantic Alliance, so NATO will require the country to significantly increase spending on air defense and missile defense in order to protect critically important national infrastructure facilities, such as nuclear power plants or military bases. This was reported by 24 Kanal with reference to The Times.

Great Britain is vulnerable to ballistic missiles

The publication's sources in the British Defense Ministry warn that the country “is in danger now.” According to them, within 15 years a ballistic missile “will be able to hit Britain from anywhere in the world.”

As The Times journalists write, during the Cold War, British strategists assumed that the island could only be attacked with nuclear warheads. According to the publication, the UK has not invested in missile defence systems for decades.

The UK currently spends only 1.6 percent of its GDP on “conventional defence” and has no ground-based air defence systems to protect critical infrastructure or populated areas from ballistic missiles.

Among the potential threats, The Times names Yemen's Houthis, who could attack British ships or military bases in Cyprus with ballistic missiles. In addition, it is indicated that militants in Libya could potentially strike London if they acquire long-range missiles, for example, from Russia or Iran.

At the same time, the publication indicated that Iran currently has an arsenal of approximately 3,000 ballistic missiles, in particular those capable of traveling at a speed of 4,600 miles per hour.

Russia has many more, including hundreds of intercontinental ballistic missiles, as well as the Oreshnik missile system, which is capable of reaching speeds of Mach 10 and hitting targets at a distance of 3,410 miles – a range sufficient to reach most of Europe.

A source for the publication in the Ministry of Defense noted that “the reason why Britain has a very weak air defense defense, is that for 30 years no one thought we needed it.” “What you saw in Ukraine and Israel shows otherwise,” he added.