For the UK, the war in Ukraine is “a wake-up call”

Published on 26 September, the report, titled “Ukraine: A Wake-Up Call”, highlights the UK’s vulnerabilities and calls for significant investment in an integrated air and missile defence (IAMD) system, drawing valuable lessons from Russia’s military campaign in Ukraine.

Lord De Mauley, chairman of the House of Lords Defence and International Relations Committee, was blunt: " Governments in London have tried to maintain the notion that the UK is a global power, but the war in Ukraine is a wake-up call, exposing the gap between that ambition and reality."

Royal Navy Type 45 destroyer HMS Dragon fires an Aster (Sea Viper) missile. Photo: Army Recognition

One of the key themes of the report is the urgent need for the UK to invest in modern missile defence systems. The war in Ukraine has shown how important air superiority and missile defence are in today’s conflicts.

The committee stressed that the UK must not fall behind. “The war in Ukraine has demonstrated that air defence is essential to preventing attrition on land,” the report said, urging the government in London to make air and missile defence a priority.

Although the UK's geographical location is far from the area where short-range ground-based missile and drone attacks take place, the report warns the "land of fog" should not be subjective.

The report further notes that in the event of a NATO conflict with Russia, the UK could be a prime target due to its strategic role as the main base for US forces entering Europe.

The reality is that the UK remains vulnerable to “long-range missiles, submarine-launched missiles and long-range munitions fired by fighter jets and stealth fighters”, the report warns.

A major concern highlighted by the UK House of Lords Defence and International Relations Committee is London's over-reliance on Washington for missile defence capabilities, a situation the report describes as "unsustainable".

In particular, the UK relies heavily on US assets for air defence, particularly in the suppression of enemy air defence systems (SEAD).

“No European NATO air force has the expertise or ammunition to conduct large-scale suppression and destruction of enemy air defences (SEAD/DEAD),” the committee warned.

To mitigate this, the Commission calls for increased cooperation with European allies, in particular through the European Sky Shield Initiative (ESSI), a German-led project aimed at establishing a European air defence system in which the UK has expressed interest.

The report encourages the UK government to seriously consider joining ESSI, working with European NATO partners on interoperability and joint procurement to fill capability gaps while also saving costs.

In addition to missile defence, the report raises concerns about wider risks to the UK’s critical national infrastructure (CNI), comparing conventional and hybrid attacks on CNI in Ukraine. The committee calls for a “whole-of-government effort” to strengthen the UK’s resilience to these threats, including from cyber and electronic warfare.

Minh Duc (According to UK Defence Journal)

Source: https://www.nguoiduatin.vn/doi-voi-vuong-quoc-anh-cuoc-chien-o-ukraine-la-mot-loi-canh-tinh-20424100120463762.htm