Russia could batter Britain with missiles in less than two hours – and there is nothing the UK military can do to stop them, an ex-general has warned.
The UK could be hit with Russian cruise missiles from land, sea and air in just 90 minutes, travelling at 600mph, General Sir Richard Barrons warned.
The former Joint Forces Commander said the UK air defence system could not stop a Russian missile offensive.
The senior commander told The Sun: ‘The UK does not have the air and missile defence that Ukraine has, for now. We’ve not needed it.
‘The sort of missiles that fall on Kyiv could fall on London. And Kyiv’s air defences are way, way better.’
‘Even a quite elderly Russian cruise missile, I’m going to cite Kh-101 released from an aircraft over western Russia, arrives in London 90 minutes later with a 500 kilogram explosive warhead and an accuracy of two meters. So pick your door in Downing Street.’
Underwater, Russian submarines could attack the UK with little warning, experts at the Royal United Services Insitute (RUSI) have said.
General Barrons, who served in the Balkans and Northern Ireland among other conflicts, is not the only expert to sound the alarm.
Dame Meg Hillier warned previously that Britain’s military has been shrinking for years despite an ‘increasingly volatile world,’ adding that the Ministry of Defence lacks a ‘credible plan to deliver fully funded military capability.’
How Russia could attack Britain
Russia spends significantly more on its military than the UK.
Putin’s military expenditure was $109,000,000,000 last year – compared to $74,900,000,000 by the UK government.
Military sources have suggested that Russia could take advantage of the alleged ‘gap’ in Britain’s defence, MailOnline reports.
General Barrons said a potential attack would involve Russia firing missiles in waves of 60 to 90 at a time.
An attack could involve Russian Yars missiles, which Putin’s military has used in Ukraine.
Yars intercontinental ballistic missiles are a familiar sight in Russian military parades.
Equipped with up to ten MIRV warheads, the missile’s maximum operational range is around 7,500 miles.
This means Yars could reach London even if it was launched from the Far Eastern corner of Russia.
China is also developing advanced systems that would pose ‘a serious threat.’
The experts warned that the British Army requires more manpower, better training for specialist air defence roles, better sensors and far more joined-up command and control structure to face modern threats, according to Forces.net citing RUSI.
It comes after earlier warnings that Britain’s military cannot stand up to Russia and China in the event of an attack.
What weapons does Britain’s air defence have?
Maintaining a defence system and armed forces is not cheap for any country.
While the UK defence deficit is estimated at £29,000,000,000, the nation still has the sixth highest military expenditure in the world after the likes of Saudi Arabia and India, with the US being the biggest spender.
Although the UK’s anti-missile system is not as advanced as Israel’s Iron Dome, it relies on a variety of air defence systems that can be launched from land, sea and air.
The Army’s latest missile system is the £250,000,000 Sky Sabre, which can hit a tennis ball-sized object travelling at the speed of sound.
It can control 24 missiles at the same time, intercepting 24 separate targets.
Sky Sabre is designed to neutralise the threat from Russian-made stealth-fighters and missiles travelling at the speed of sound, according to The National.
In the air, the Royal Air Force Typhoons and F-35 stealth jets have the capability to destroy warplanes from a distance.
Typhoon jets can fly at the maximum speed of up to 1,381 mph and as high as 55,000 feet.
While Typhoon jets have flown on missions around the world from the Baltic to the Black Sea, their main role is to react quickly to alerts for UK and Falkland Islands airspace.
Typhoon jets are equipped with Meteor missiles which can hit agile targets like jet aircraft and small missiles.
In the sea, the Royal Navy’s Sea Viper, a guided weapon system, can track potential threats as far as 250 miles away.
It is currently undergoing a £450,000,000 missile system upgrade carried out in the UK, France and Italy.
The Type 45 destroyers that are equipped with the Sea Viper system cost £1,000,000,000 each – and the Navy owns six of them.
HMS Diamond, a Type 45 destroyer, was recently deployed in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden in response to the Houthi attacks in Yemen.
Defence Secretary Grant Shapps said the war in Ukraine was ‘an existential battle for all civilised countries’ as he said Russia was ‘making inroads.’
It comes after defence chiefs from Europe and around the world met on Monday to co-ordinate more military aid to Ukraine.
Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@metro.co.uk.
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