Britain 'exposed' to Russian missile attacks
Former commander warns only way to protect London from hypersonic or ballistic attack would be to station a Type 45 destroyer in the Thames
ByDanielle Sheridan, DEFENCE EDITOR29 October 2022 • 6:00am
Britain needs air defences in the wake of the Ukraine invasion because it is almost “entirely exposed” to attacks by long-range Russian missiles, a former Air Marshal has warned.
Edward Stringer, former commander of the UK's Defence Academy, warned the military was limited with what it could do without a long-range air-defence system and that the only way to protect London from a hypersonic or ballistic attack would be to station a Type 45 destroyer in the Thames, stocked with Sea Viper missiles.
Air Marshal Stringer cautioned that Russia’s invasion of Ukraine had reminded the West that “nuclear weapons did not disappear at the end of the Cold War, and that nuclear powers do not just hold these weapons as an act of deterrence”.
“They are willing to consider using them in acts of aggression and coercion,” he said in a paper for the Police Exchange think tank.
“This requires us to rethink our approach to nuclear weapons and we must consider our response accordingly.”
He added: “UK Defence has much to learn from the Ukraine War, and the manner in which a country with a defence budget one tenth of our own constructed a defence that held off the army of an assumed superpower.”
Air Marshal Stringer said that if, as argued, Russia emerged diminished from its war on Ukraine “then we should recalculate our part in supporting Nato to deter further Russian aggression”.
“This should result in costed war plans and adequate weapons stockpiles,” he said.
“An independent review of the lessons learned should be carried out to prevent selective interpretation by interested parties within UK Defence.”
He also said that in light of the war in Ukraine the Government should consider implementing “a war cabinet”, which could signal the gravity of the circumstances.
“As with all emergency surgery, state intervention must address the immediate threat but should also minimise any long-term harm to the patient,” he said.
www.telegraph.co.uk
