Politics
Tories pledge £10bn 'Britannia Shield' air defence system
October 5, 2026 at 11:28 PM · Updated 10d ago
Coverage
6 reports · 2 in Arabic, 4 in English · over 11 hours
TGThe Guardian
Badenoch denies ‘British Iron Dome’ plan – after Tories use phrase in press release
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MAMasrawy
بـ13.2 مليار دولار.. محافظو بريطانيا يتعهدون ببناء قبة حديدية
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SNSky News Arabia
محافظو بريطانيا يتعهدون ببناء "قبة حديدية" بـ10 مليارات جنيه
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BNBBC News
Newspaper headlines: Badenoch's 'Britannia Dome' and 'King tells Andrew 'I won't fund court fight''
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BNBBC News
Tories pledge new 'Britannia Shield' UK air defence system
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TGThe Guardian
Conservatives propose £10bn ‘Britannia Shield’ inspired by Israel’s Iron Dome
(opens the publisher’s site)The Conservatives have pledged up to £10bn over a decade on a missile and drone defence network, "Britannia Shield," if they win the next UK election.
- The Conservatives announced the commitment, funded within their existing pledge to spend 3% of GDP on defence by 2030, comprising radar, command-and-control, and interceptor missile systems.
- Shadow defence secretary James Cartlidge will describe the programme at the party conference as "the most significant upgrade to UK air defence for generations."
- Defence Secretary Wes Streeting said the Tories had an "abysmal record" on defence and owed Britain "an apology, not another lecture."
- Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch said Labour was "failing that basic test" of keeping the country safe.
- The proposed 'Britannia Shield' would also protect Britain's sovereign territories and its overseas bases.
- Badenoch denied the plan is comparable to Israel's Iron Dome, despite her party's press release using the phrase.
- Former general Richard Barrons estimated a similar system would cost over £100bn.