Soldiers from a drone unit during testing before using them on the front line in Donetsk Oblast, Ukraine. Photo / Getty Images
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer could send thousands of interceptor drones to the Middle East, the Telegraph has learnt.
The sophisticated “Octopus” interceptor anti-drone systems are being manufactured in the United Kingdom for Ukraine to use against Russia, with production ramping up to reach thousands per month.
But military officials are now examining whether the interceptors could also be used to bolster the UK’s defences against Iran’s Shahed drones.
It may be seen as an attempt by the Prime Minister to counter criticism from United States President Donald Trump and military figures over his “weak” response to the Iran war.
Today, the US President urged the UK to send ships to the Strait of Hormuz as part of a global flotilla to force Iran to unblock the crucial oil passage. The Government is considering deploying a ship to the Gulf but has not made a final decision.
However, a defence source told the Telegraph that the UK was considering deploying drone interceptors to fight the “axis of aggression” between Russia and Iran.
They said: “The Ukrainians are the best at stopping these drones as they have been doing it for the past four years. We are playing a leading role here, working with Ukrainians in a way that no other nation is to develop and manufacture anti-drone systems and drone interceptors, designed to take out Shahed drones.
“Ukraine is clearly the first priority for this capability. But beyond that, the axis of aggression between Russia and Iran is clear. Shahed-style drones are a key part of both their arsenals.”
They added: “As this conflict [in the Middle East] continues, we should absolutely be looking at how we can bring in Ukrainian expertise and innovation – and ensuring the Ukrainians see benefits from that in terms of increased support for their ongoing, heroic resistance against Putin. And the potential benefits both for UK defence and for our partners is clear.”
In January, John Healey, the Defence Secretary, announced a partnership to allow the cutting-edge Octopus interceptor drones – which cost US$3000 ($5200) and have been developed by Ukrainian engineers – to be manufactured in the UK.
Britain can in turn send thousands of low-cost anti-drone systems back to Kyiv, enabling the Ukrainian military to defend itself from Russian attacks.
Now, officials in the Ministry of Defence are looking at whether British-made Octopus drone interceptors could be sent to the Middle East as well.
Drone attacks on RAF Akrotiri in Cyprus and on British special forces in Erbil, Iraq, have exposed the vulnerability of UK military bases to cheap, mass-produced Iranian unmanned aerial vehicles. Healey claimed that Russian President Vladimir Putin’s “hidden hand” was behind the strikes.
Six US soldiers were also killed in a makeshift facility in Port Shuaiba, Kuwait, after it was struck by an Iranian drone that evaded air defences at the start of the war.
Starmer scrambled to send a warship to Cyprus after the attack on Akrotiri, following France in sending reinforcements. HMS Dragon is on track to arrive in the eastern Mediterranean as early as next week.
However, Trump has attacked Starmer over his response, warning this month that he “will remember” the lack of British support during the conflict.
A source close to the president told the Telegraph that the US could no longer depend on the UK for military support.
They said: “The British showed during the Iran conflict they can’t be depended upon, they don’t have the resources and they’re not really committed to any assets. There is no special relationship; that’s over.
“The entire war in Iran shows that the entire security guarantee will fall apart. The US is going to see France, and particularly England and see our special relationship can deliver nothing.”
Rick Gill, a former Army logistics officer who heads Drone Defence, a firm that specialises in counter-drone systems, warned that the UK was vulnerable to drone warfare.
He said: “Low-cost, mass-produced aerial threats can now reach sovereign territories and forward bases with economics that favour the attacker. Attacks threatening service personnel and their families at bases such as Cyprus underline the urgent need for robust, layered counter-drone defences.”
Senior military figures have also raised concerns about the state of Britain’s defences.
Air Chief Marshal Harv Smyth claimed that Britain’s advantage over its opponents had “waned”.
In an unusually frank critique of the state of the military, he warned of a “new era” where RAF bases would be “once again attacked from the air”.
At a conference hosted by the Royal United Services Institute, a defence think-tank, he said: “[Our] numerical and technological advantage has waned over time, and our opponents are developing fast.
“They’re learning through fighting and rapidly closing the technological gap. We must not be outpaced.”
Smyth said that “the era of mass raids of highly autonomous, low-risk, long-range and high-stand-off attack are now upon us”, adding: “We know that control of the air is not inherited. It cannot be taken for granted any more. It is earned. It is maintained, and it is re-earned by every generation.”
Without control of the air, he said “the joint and integrated campaign becomes problematic”, adding: “Control of the air is the foundation upon which all joint operations depend”.
Trump sought help in securing the Strait of Hormuz and said the US would co-ordinate with them.
Iran all but closed the Strait of Hormuz, which serves as a conduit for about a fifth of the world’s oil, this month after threatening to attack any vessel using the shipping lane.
However, former military chiefs said that the UK was too “weak” to heed Trump’s demand to deploy ships there, even if it wanted to.
Admiral Lord West of Spithead, a former First Sea Lord, said: “If there is going to be a concerted maritime response to ensure that the Strait of Hormuz stays open, then we should be part of that. The sad thing is the ships we used to have in Bahrain, not least to help keep the Strait of Hormuz open – and what have we done? We withdrew them all before this war started.
“We still have no warships between Gibraltar and Singapore – that shows a lack of strategic understanding of maritime power.”
Professor Gwythian Prins, a former Nato adviser who sat on the chief of the defence staff’s strategy advisory panel from 2006 to 2013, said that the Royal Navy was in a “state of weakness”.
“I am afraid that is the position – we are too weak,” he said.
Timothy Cross, a retired major-general and military logistics expert, said the UK “should be a part of” breaking Iran’s blockade on the Strait of Hormuz.
However, he added: “You come back to the problem of what assets have we got? Our ability is pretty limited. I think people are surprised and disappointed about what we have allowed to happen to our defence capability. We used to have four Navy ships in Bahrain – now we’ve got nothing. It’s a pretty poor state of affairs.”
Defence officials rejected the suggestion that the UK was too weak to defend its interests in the region, pointing to the deployment of HMS Dragon. While it is on its way to the Eastern Mediterranean, it could be redirected if required.
They also noted that the UK had autonomous mine-hunting systems in the region, which are “effectively seaborne drones” and could be used.
Insiders pointed to the possibility of sending HMS Anson, the UK’s only nuclear attack submarine, towards the Strait of Hormuz.
Government sources refused to be drawn on whether the vessel, which left Australia this week, was heading to the Middle East.
Ben Wallace, a former Tory defence secretary, told the Telegraph: “If our HMS Anson attack submarine is in the area, you could deter Iran by saying, ‘We will hit you with a Tomahawk cruise missile’”.
A Ministry of Defence spokesman said: “The UK is continuously investing in new counter-drone defences. To protect the security of our personnel, we do not comment on specific operational capabilities.”
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