Britain in talks to join Europe’s new ‘Sky Shield’ missile defence system to protect against Putin, says Grant Shapps
BRITAIN is in talks to join Europe’s new air defence system, Grant Shapps has confirmed.
The UK is working with EU allies “on what a Sky Shield may look like”, the Defence Secretary said.
He also signalled a ship-building boom to boost the size of the Royal Navy on The Sun's new World At War show.
The Sky Shield plan could see missiles such as US Patriots, Israeli Arrow-3s and German IRIS-Ts deployed to UK soil to protect against hostile projectiles, including drones.
Mr Shapps dismissed calls from MPs, including Penny Mordaunt, to buy Israel’s Iron Dome defence technology and said the Europe Sky Shield talks were “in early stages”.
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz proposed the initiative to boost European air defence after Vladimir Putin launched missiles on Ukrainian infrastructure in 2022.
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Some 21 nations are currently involved, including neutral Switzerland.
The Sky Shield plan aims to cut costs for countries by coordinating their access to air and defence systems such as the US-made Patriot missile system.
Asked how he planned to spend the extra £75billion pledged for the defence budget between now and 2030, Mr Shapps said: “I’ll shortly be saying more as a shipbuilding czar.”
And on whether the UK’s Armed Forces are currently large enough, he said: “We’ve taken the peace dividend too many times, and we were moving potentially from a post-war to a pre-war world.
"I think we need to do more.”
Last week, PM Rishi Sunak unveiled his plan to hike up defence spending to 2.5 per cent of GDP by 2030.
Sunak hailed it as the “biggest strengthening of national defence in a generation” to combat a growing axis of evil between Russia, Iran, China and North Korea.
What is Israel's Iron Dome & how does it work?
ISRAEL'S air defence system is one of the best in the world having successfully intercepted thousands of rockets.
The mobile all-weather Iron Dome is at the forefront of that and was central to fending off Iran's recent missile and drone attack.
Here's the lowdown on the high tech system.
What is Israel's Iron Dome?
Iron Dome is a counter rocket, artillery, and mortar (C-RAM) short range air defence system.
It is designed to intercept and destroy short-range rockets and artillery shells fired from distances of 2–43 miles away.
It intercepts rockets that are travelling in the direction of urban areas and brings them down - the first system of its kind in the world.
Israel hopes to increase the range of the dome's interceptions to 250km and make it able to stop rockets coming from two directions.
Developed by Rafael Advanced Defence Systems and Israel Aerospace Industries, it can be operated in all weather conditions including fog, dust storm, low clouds and rain.
From 2011 to 2021, the United States contributed a total of $1.6billion to the Iron Dome defence system, befor another US$1billion was approved by the US Congress in 2022.
How does it work?
The dome is made up of missile batteries which are shaped like giant match boxes and are tilted in the direction of Gaza.
The Iron Dome monitor detects a target using radar and monitors its trajectory.
A control centre then calculates an interception point and then commands a rocket to launch if the foreign missile is heading towards an urban area.
Once in contact with the missile, the rocket explodes and brings it down.
Each launcher contains 20 Tamir Missiles with proximity warheads and there are several batteries positioned around the country.
Since being implemented in 2011 the computer systems have been updated, improved and upgrades to improve the accuracy of the rockets.
“As our adversaries align, we must do more to defend our country," the PM said, adding it marked a "turning point for European security and a landmark moment in the defence of the United Kingdom."
Talks of a "Sky Shield" over Europe came after French President Emmanuel Macron suggested forging a bubble of nuclear protection from Russia.
Macron said 300 submarine-launched ballistic missiles should be placed across the continent to shore up collective defence.
His comments followed a German minister urging Britain and France to create a "nuclear shield" to deter Russia.
Macron said Nato does not offer Europe protection from Russian nukes at a time when threats are coming from Putin and his cronies thick and fast.
The French president said he wanted to open up conversations about "missile defence, long-range weapons and nuclear weapons" across Europe.
