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Official report reveals the five ways Britain would be attacked if we went to war this year

Published 12:47 3 Jun 2025 BST

Updated 12:47 3 Jun 2025 BST

Erin McLaughlin
Official report reveals the five ways Britain would be attacked if we went to war this year

Homenews

Strategic Defence Review bares five ways our enemies would attack the UK

The Strategic Defence Review reveals five "methods of attack" the UK can expect in the case of a state-on-state conflict.

The methods include: attacks on the UK's armed forces and overseas bases; air and missile attacks by long-range drones; cruise missiles targeting military infrastructure; cyberattacks; attacks on shipping trade and space-based infrastructure; and manipulation of information undermining political will.

In case of conflict army bases, ports, and British airfields will be the first to get attacked.

And then it won't take long for cyberattacks on oil rigs, subsea cables, and satellites to follow.

Major UK bases would include the Navy's three main ports at Portsmouth, Plymouth, and Clyde as well as overseas bases, such as the Diego Garcia base in the Indian Ocean and RAF Akrotiri in Cyprus.

Unfortunately, the UK doesn't have any land missile defence systems and relies on its six Royal Navy destroyers to intercept ballistic or hypersonic missiles.

The report further warns Britain of cyber threats and foreign attempts to disrupt the UK economy, through cyber attacks, the interdiction of maritime trade, and attacks on space-based critical infrastructure.

Finally, the Strategic Defence Review forewarns Britain for a major propaganda blitz, especially designed to “manipulate information and undermine social cohesion and political will.”

The review states that the government has pledged to invest £1 billion in a new iron dome-style defence system.

It also includes plans to grow the British Army by recruiting up to 250,000 cadets and to renew Britain's nukes.

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