Decades of cuts have left the UK increasingly vulnerable to the threats posed by missiles and drones, experts have warned.
Military sources and Cold War veterans believe that cost-saving measures have eroded the UK's once world-class air defences, leading chiefs to explore options to protect critical national infrastructure. Power stations, military bases and government buildings are at risk from the type of Russian cruise and ballistic missile strikes that have lain waste to Ukraine.
However, any defence plan will cost the British taxpayer billions of pounds. It would likely require an additional increase in defence spending beyond the 2.5 per cent rise in national income which the prime minister recently announced.
Some of the air defence systems not being used (Sky News)"Can the UK defend its cities from the skies if there was a barrage of missiles? No," an anonymous senior defence source told Sky News. "Do the public know what to do in the event of an air attack? No... Put simply, are we defended? No."
RAF veteran Robert Findlater, who joined the Air Force in 1968, worked as chief technician on the Bloodhound unit, which was charged with making sure missiles were always on standby and ready to be fired at any time. He explained how the Bloodhound unit, which is no longer in use, was a devastating option that was shut down by the government after the Cold War risk decreased.
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Missiles and drones have laid waste to huge swathes of Ukraine (Sky News)But he believes its loss has left the UK seriously lacking due to the current risks from Russian and elswhere. He explained: "I don't feel we're defended, no, not at all [...] [It's] sad… Considering what we had in the 1970s and 1980s."
John Baker, 69, who once worked as an aircraft identification and recognition officer, told Sky that back in the day, his unit practiced "exercises for war" "every couple of months or so". The radar site he worked at would be the "epicentre" of annual NATO exercises because it was the closest to Europe.
But he believes nowadays, the UK's armed forces are far less prepared. He said: "If hundreds and hundreds of drones and cruise missiles were to come in. I don't think we could safely take out all of them." He added: "I'm glad I did my time back then - and not now."
It comes after a former British Lieutenant-Colonel said the UK has never been militarily weaker and more vulnerable to a Russian attack. He warned that if the UK was drawn into war with Vladimir Putin's army then its military was ill-equipped and ill-prepared to face the challenge and in all likelihood would be defeated.
His words come after reports emerged on Tuesday that the British government still does not have a national plan for the defence of the UK or mobilisation of its people and industry in a war, despite renewed threats of conflict.
Glen Grant served 37 years in the British armed forces and has worked as an adviser to the Ukrainian Defence Ministry. "I think Russia thinks we're a bunch of namby-pambies and probably just waiting until they can actually stuff Ukraine, so to speak, before they move on to someone else," he reportedly said.
"Britain is particularly vulnerable because we're an island and we rely on all the things like our cables running everywhere. And we're actually quite weak in terms of being able to guard what we've got, including Scotland, and able to reinforce and help others. I mean, we've never been so weak militarily. Maybe between the (World) wars we were, but we're clearly in a bad place at the moment."
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