British Military Simulates Russian Missile Attack on the UK: Results “Unsettling”

Russian missiles breached the UK’s missile defense during a simulation of a missile attack similar to the one that took place on the first day of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

The Times reported on this.

In 2022, the Royal Air Force simulated the first day of the Russian invasion of Ukraine as if the attack had been directed at the United Kingdom. According to reports, some missiles were able to breach the defense. It is worth recalling that during that time, Russia launched over 160 missiles of various types at Ukraine.

Royal Air Force Commodore Blythe Crawford, who headed the Air and Space Warfare Centre until last week, stated that before the exercises, the military considered the United Kingdom to be safe.

“We have stood at the western edge of Europe for years, believing that the entire continent stood between us and the enemy. In the United Kingdom, over the past few decades, we have focused on the security of our garrisons and made the assumption that we could operate from a home base, as most of the wars we fought were fought abroad. We need to change this mindset and accept that from now on, even the home base itself is under threat,” he reported.

The simulation was conducted using the Gladiator program, which is used by both British and American militaries for “top-secret and highly realistic” simulations.

“We uploaded the first night of the invasion of Ukraine into a virtual environment and recreated it against the United Kingdom, and as you can imagine, the picture was unsettling. This only reinforced the understanding that we need to seriously address this issue,” Crawford explained.

After the simulation, the military enhanced aircraft shelters and practiced landing Typhoon fighter jets on ice in Finland to ensure the ability to land in unconventional conditions.

According to the media, it is believed that the situation has improved since then. If such an attack were to happen now, many missiles would have been intercepted by NATO forces.

However, experts believe that more needs to be done for the United Kingdom to quickly disperse its aircraft in the event of an attack. The Ministry of Defence has significantly reduced the number of air bases in recent years and ceased using protected bunkers.

Currently, the United Kingdom almost entirely relies on its fleet of six Type 45 destroyers to defend against ballistic missiles. In January 2024, a program to upgrade the air defense systems of these ships was announced.

It is unclear whether these assessments account for the fact that Russia has significantly enhanced its missile deployment tactics. Russia now delivers combined strikes with the simultaneous approach of different types of missiles from various directions. Additionally, long-range strike drones such as the Shahed drones are widely used, which can also be launched using a rocket booster from a ship.