Five terrifying ways enemies would hit Britain if it goes to war laid bare in official report
Britain would be hit with drones, ballistic and cruise missiles if it went to war in 2025, according to a startling new report that urges NATO and AUKUS to ramp up.
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A dangerously underfunded and unprepared Britain would get blitzed with long-range drones, ballistic and cruise missiles if it had to fight a war this year, according to a new report.
A landmark Strategic Defence Review set out five “methods of attack” the UK should expect if it was forced into conflict with another nation or statehood in 2025.
The Sun reported these five major methods are:
- Attacks on the armed forces in the UK and on overseas bases
- Air and missile attacks from long range drones, cruise and ballistic missiles targeting military infrastructure and vital national infrastructure
- Increased cyber attacks
- Attempts to disrupt the UK economy e.g. through shipping, trade and attacks on space-based infrastructure
- Infowars that undermine social unity and political purpose
Bases, ports and airfields in Britain would be the first to get bombarded.
Potentially, everything from oil rigs and subsea cables to satellites and merchant ships would also face cyber attacks and sabotage.
The dossier warned that based on current methods of war, if the UK were to fight a state-on-state war as part of NATO in 2025, it could expect to be subject to “Attacks on the armed forces in the UK and overseas bases.”
Major UK bases would include the Navy’s three main ports at Portsmouth, Plymouth and Clyde as well as outposts in the Indian Ocean and RAF Akoritiri in Cyprus.
The report also warned of incoming “Air and missile attack from long-rage drones, cruise and ballistic missiles, targeting military infrastructure and critical national infrastructure in the UK.”
Currently, the UK has no land based missile defence systems and relies on its six Royal Navy destroyers to intercept ballistic or hypersonic missile - which Russia has used to blitz Ukraine during the war.
Based on the Strategic Defence Review, five key defence pledges need to be made:
- Up to 12 new nuclear-powered submarines to be built under the AUKUS pact
- £15bn (A$31.3bn) investment in the UK’s nuclear warhead program to maintain and modernise the deterrent
- New Cyber Command to be established, with £1 billion invested in digital warfare capabilities
- Up to 7,000 UK-built long-range weapons to be purchased, supporting 800 defence jobs
- More than £1.5bn in extra funding to repair and renew armed forces housing
The report warns Britain is already “under daily attack” in the so-called ‘grey zone,’ which includes cyber hacks and sabotage “beneath the threshold of war”.
It also warned citizens to expect “attempts to disrupt the UK economy, especially the industry that supports the armed forces, including through cyber attack, the interdiction of maritime trade, and attacks on space-based critical national infrastructure”.
Finally, it warned that the UK would face a massive propaganda blitz via social media and other sources designed “to manipulate information and undermine social cohesion and political will.”
The review sets out plans to grow the Army, renew Britain’s nuclear program and recruit up to 250,000 cadets to get the country ready for “whole of society approach” to defence and resilience.
Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer warned that, “a step change in the threats we face demands a step-change in British defence to meet them”.
He added: “We need to see the biggest shift in mindset in my lifetime to put security and defence front and centre – to make it the fundamental organising principle of government.”
It comes as the British government pledged to invest £1bn (A$3bn) in a new Iron Dome-style defence system to “protect the homeland”.
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Originally published as Five terrifying ways enemies would hit Britain if it goes to war laid bare in official report
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