Devastating Russian missiles rain on UK in chilling simulation after ‘get up name’
The test took place on a simulator – Gladiator – after Russia began its full scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022 and British air defence was completely overwhelmed
Defence chiefs simulated an attack on the UK by Russia based on its invasion of Ukraine, and it “was not a pretty picture”.
The test took place on a wargaming simulator – Gladiator – after Russia began its full scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, but the results have now been revealed.
The UK’s Air Battlespace Training Centre simulated the first night of Ukraine, February 24, 2022, and watched it play out against the UK as its air defences were completely breached. Air Commodore Blythe Crawford said the event “was not a pretty picture” at a Royal United Services Institute conference in London on Thursday.
“We’ve stood for years at the western edge of Europe feeling as though the rest of the continent has stood between us and the enemy”, he said according to The Times.
“Ukraine has made us all sit up, and that drove some of the work we were doing in the warfare center to get after how we would solve a problem like that if a similar scenario was pitted against the UK.”
He added: “Over the last three years, the scenario has become much more complex, in terms of the types of systems that we need to be able to counter, but then also the mass as well.”
The UK has improved its air defences since 2022 and integrates aircraft, ships, and land-based systems. But Britain has no Iron Dome-style air defence system to protect it from incoming missiles.
But an attack on the UK would evidently be very different to Ukraine, as ground-launched missiles would need to pass through European airspace. If it was to attack the UK, Russia might have to mobilise its Northern Fleet and launch the attack from the Atlantic.
Blythe Crawford added: “When you see swarms of hundreds of drones now operating in Ukraine, some of them decoys, some of them with munitions on board, the challenge is how do you tackle them all, or do you tackle them all?”
“That is a challenge we have right across the West.”
Crawford described Ukraine as a wake-up call, saying: “Where you have two countries with very capable integrated air defence systems going head-to-head, with neither side really achieving any form of air superiority, which has been a cornerstone of air operations for decades.”
He said there was a possibility of “swarms of several hundred munitions — not just drones but combined with rockets and ICBMs, at all levels and in all spheres.”
“The UK stands fully prepared to defend itself against any threat alongside our NATO allies,” a spokesperson for the UK’s Ministry of Defense said, according to Business Insider.
“Our military is equipped with a range of advanced capabilities to provide a layered approach to air and missile defence. This includes the world-class Sea Viper missile system, which has successfully shot down a Houthi rebel ballistic missile and attack drones in the Red Sea.”
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