More Air Defence Destroyers

The full cost of a missile defence system for the UK would be in the tens of billions of pounds. It would also be complex, subject to cost overruns, and require a raft of new operating procedures and personnel.

It would be faster, cheaper and more straight forward to build and operate, say, 20 additional, modernised, Type 45 destroyers or specialised anti-air version of the Type 26 frigate.

• £1 – 1.5B to build each one, spread over a number of years
• £50M/Ship/Year to operate = £1B/year to operate upon reaching full strength.
• This would be at the absolute lowest end of any land based ‘iron dome’ type system cost estimate.

These are a known quantity, with a known cost, with developed and implemented operations. Rotating in, 5 or 6 ships could provide basic coverage at all times, and execute training exercises to stay sharp. During times of increased threat additional ships could be added to the roster for more complete security.

There are other benefits for an increased fleet as well – these would effectively come for free, thrown in as part of the missile defence budget

• They would also provide additional protection for undersea cables and pipelines that are vital to Britain’s and Europe’s economies
• Improved protection for the UK’s two aircraft carriers.
• Additional redundancy for repairs and refits
• More security options for overseas territories, such as the Falkland Islands
• Improved response in case of natural disasters and extreme weather events
• A more capable ally for European and global military partners, and a more effective contribution to a self sufficient European security apparatus.

Agreements could be explored with other European costal countries (The Nordics, The Netherlands, Denmark, Portugal, Italy, etc.) for additional ships and sharing of costs.

Being an Island means that Britain has military requirements and costs that countries like Poland and Germany don’t. It does however also enable solutions that are not available to them. Britain should take advantage of that.