Five terrifying ways Britain’s enemies could attack in a future war

The UK could face a barrage of long-range drones, ballistic and cruise missiles if it were to engage in warfare this year. The Strategic Defence Review outlined five “methods of attack” that the UK should anticipate if it was thrust into state-on-state conflict. Bases, ports and airfields both in Britain and globally would be the initial targets. Everything from oil rigs and subsea cables to satellites and merchant ships could also be subjected to cyber attacks and sabotage.

Major bases would include the Navy’s three main ports at Portsmouth, Plymouth and Clyde as well as outposts around the world, such as the Diego Garcia base in the Indian Ocean and RAF Akoritiri in Cyprus. The report also warned of “air and missile attack from long-rage drones, cruise and ballistic missiles, targeting military infrastructure and critical national infrastructure in the UK”.

The UK lacks land-based missile defence systems and relies on its six Royal Navy destroyers to intercept ballistic or hypersonic missiles, which Russia has used to bombard Ukraine.

The Government has committed a whopping £1bn to develop a new Iron Dome-style defence system to “protect the homeland”. The UK is also bracing for “increased sabotage and cyber-attacks affecting on and offshore critical national infrastructure”.

The review outlined ambitious plans to expand the Army, modernise the UK’s nuclear arsenal, and enlist up to 250,000 cadets to prepare the country for a “whole of society approach” to defence and resilience.

Sir Keir Starmer issued a stark warning that “a step change in the threats we face demands a step-change in British defence to meet them”.

He emphasised: “We need to see the biggest shift in mindset in my lifetime to put security and defence front and centre – to make it the fundamental organising principle of government.”