Tories announce plans for £10bn ‘British Iron Dome’ to protect UK from missiles

They're calling it ‘Britannia Shield’

The Conservatives are dubbing the integrated system the “Britannia Shield”, which would join up advanced radar, upgraded command and control systems.

Modelled on Israel’s Iron Dome, it would include new interceptor missiles and counter-drone capabilities to combat attacks from drones to long-range missiles.

The Tories say that it comes amid growing threats of missile and drone attacks, as Ukraine is facing daily attacks, while earlier this year, Iran and its proxies attacked British military bases in Cyprus and the Chagos Islands.

Iron Dome missile battery seen in industrial area of Haifa, Israel. Credit: Getty Images

‘One of UK's most significant military programmes since the Cold War’

The plans are set to be unveiled by shadow defence secretary James Cartlidge at Conservative conference on Tuesday.

The new sytem would cost up to £10bn and would be “one of Britain's most significant military programmes since the Cold War”, according to Cartlidge.

Unlike Israel's Iron Dome, which acts to protect populated areas, “Britannia Shield” would “protect critical national infrastructure and military bases”.

Similar systems are being developed by several other countries, such as Greece, Belgium, the Netherlands and the United States, as per the Conservative Party.

Tory leader Kemi Badenoch on day three of the Conservative Party Conference in Birmingham on 6 October. Credit: Getty Images

“If a missile or drone is launched at Britain, we do not get a second chance to wish we had prepared”, Tory leader Kemi Badenoch said.

“That is why today we are announcing Britannia Shield: a new national missile-and-drone defence system to protect the whole United Kingdom, our sovereign territories and British bases overseas”, she added.

“This is what a strong government is meant to focus on. Families can make their own choices. Businesses can build and innovate. But only government can defend the country”.

But while Badenoch claimed “we haven't called it Iron Dome”, that’s the phrase that was used by the Tories in their press release.

“It’s not going to be exactly like the Iron Dome. We haven’t called it an Iron Dome”, she said, but the press release shows they, in fact, did just that.

Image credit: Press release from Conservative party

What the Iron Dome is and how it works

The Iron Dome is an Israeli mobile all-weather air defense system, developed by Rafael Advanced Defense Systems and Israel Aerospace Industries.

Thanks to the system and its design, Israel can intercept and destroy short-range rockets and artillery shells whose trajectory would take them to an Israeli populated area.

The United States, Israel’s strongest ally, contributed a total of US$1.6 billion to the Iron Dome defense system from 2011 to 2021.

Another US$1 billion was approved by the US Congress in 2022.

Rockets fired from Lebanon towards the north of Israel, intercepted by the Iron Dome in September 2024. Credit: Getty Images

The system was declared operational and initially deployed on 27 March 2011.

On 7 April 2011, the Iron Dome successfully intercepted a rocket launched from Gaza for the first time.

On 10 March 2012, The Jerusalem Post reported that the system shot down 90% of rockets launched from Gaza that would have landed in populated areas.

The system is designed to counter short-range rockets and 155 mm artillery shells with a range of up to 70 kilometers and can respond to multiple threats simultaneously.