British military to get ‘shoot-down’ powers as UK unveils new drone-killing missiles amid rising Russian threats

At the Lord Mayor of London’s Defence and Security Lecture on Monday, Defence Secretary John Healey will announce new measures under the forthcoming Armed Forces Bill to authorise the use of force against suspicious drones over UK military sites.

Mr Healey will warn that Britain faces an increasing threat from state-sponsored drone activity, highlighting how Russia has used unmanned systems to devastating effect in Ukraine.

According to Defence Intelligence’s latest assessment, Russia launched around 5,500 one-way attack drones in September alone, more than a thousand above the previous month’s total, and over 3,000 so far in October.

The Defence Secretary will say that Russia has deliberately targeted Ukraine’s critical energy infrastructure ahead of winter and that this aggression has spread across Europe, citing recent incursions into Polish and Estonian airspace and attempts to subvert Moldova’s elections.

“The UK is not immune from these threats,” Mr Healey is expected to say. “We continue to defend ourselves daily from dangers reaching from the seabed to cyberspace."

"We will always do what’s needed to keep the British people safe, and as we speak, we are developing new powers to shoot down unidentified drones over UK military sites.”

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The announcement follows a series of moves to strengthen homeland defence. Last week, the UK extended its contribution to NATO’s Eastern Sentry mission, with RAF Typhoon jets continuing to fly air-defence patrols over Poland until the end of the year.

As LBC reported last week Britain also deployed counter-drone specialists to Denmark after reports of suspicious aerial activity in its airspace.

The measures build on the Strategic Defence Review published in June, which placed homeland defence at the core of the MOD’s mission. It pledged up to £1 billion in new investment for air and missile defence and doubled spending on autonomous systems to £4 billion this Parliament.

Meanwhile, the Royal Navy has unveiled its own new weapon in the fight against drones.

The lightweight “Martlet” missile — capable of destroying drones, explosive-laden boats, and attack helicopters — has completed front-line trials and is now operational on the Navy’s fleet of Wildcat helicopters.

Weighing just 13 kg and travelling at one-and-a-half times the speed of sound, the Belfast-built missile can be guided by the helicopter’s crew to intercept fast-moving aerial or maritime threats.

Trials off the Welsh coast and in the French Mediterranean saw Wildcats shoot down multiple drone targets, including the fixed-wing Albas, which one pilot described as “like trying to kill a fly with a laser-guided dart.”

The Martlet, already in service with the Army and Royal Marines, has been supplied to Ukraine and will soon be exported to India under a £350 million defence deal.

Defence Minister Luke Pollard called the missile “a significant leap forward for Britain’s military might,” adding: “Its precision against both aerial and surface threats showcases the Royal Navy’s cutting-edge technology and tactical excellence.”

Drones have become central to modern warfare, with cheap, easily-produced models responsible for as much as 80 per cent of battlefield casualties in Ukraine.

The government hopes that both the new legal powers and advanced weapons systems will strengthen the UK’s ability to respond to such threats at home and abroad.