BRITAIN must be prepared for Russia to swarm its skies with deadly Iranian kamikaze drones, MPs and officials warn.
The stark warning was issued today as a terrifying Shahed-136 weapon downed in Ukraine was unveiled in Parliament.
Ray Collins(L-R) Eduard Fesko from Ukraine’s embassy, MP Tom Tugendhat, Poland’s foreign minister Radek Sikorski and UANI CEO Amb Mark Wallace at today’s unveiling[/caption]
GettyA damaged residential area following a Russian combined attack with Shahed drones in Zaporizhzhia[/caption]
Ray CollinsThe Sun’s Katie Davis with a Shahed-136 attack drone unveiled in Parliament[/caption]
It comes just weeks after Russian drones violated Polish airspace and after repeated sightings of unidentified drones in Nato’s skies.
Relatively cheap, lethal, and widespread, the drone has become Russia’s weapon of choice against Ukraine.
One Shahed-136 costs up to £38,000 – a huge contrast to the cost of a 9M728 Iskander K cruise missile at up to £1.5million.
Since the start of the year, Russia has fired more than 38,000 Shahed drones to wreak havoc in Ukraine – causing devastation on the battlefield and raining hell on civilian targets.
With a maximum speed of 180km/h and a range of up to 2,500km, the drones explode when smashing into targets.
But officials today warned drones like these could be headed for the UK’s airspace.
MP Tom Tugendhat, senior advisor to United Against Nuclear Iran (UANI) and former Minister of State for Security, told The Sun: “That’s exactly what we were preparing for and I’m sure that the current government are continuing to prepare for.
“The reality is these weapon systems are not just targeting Ukraine, they’re not just targeting Poland. They’re being built to intimidate us.
“Mohammad-Javad Larijani, who’s one of the principal spokesmen for the Ayatollah of Iran, has made it clear that one of the intentions of developing these weapon systems is to threaten Europe.
“We need to make sure that our country is secure and our country is safe.”
Last month, Nato allies sprang into action after drones from Russia violated Poland’s airspace – an incident Mr Tugendhat believes was no accident.
Meanwhile, Denmark, Norway, France and Germany are among the Nato countries where rogue drones have been spotted – sparking massive security concerns.
Radek Sikorski, foreign minister and deputy prime minister of Poland, said it exposed a gap in Europe’s defences – and a further incident could have more disastrous consequences.
He told The Sun: “In the operation in the Polish skies, some of the Russian drones were detected and shot down by F-35s.
“It is not the most economical way of dealing with such a threat.
“And if they did to us what they’re doing every week to Ukraine and launched hundreds of these things, we would be pretty soon out of sight of them.
“So Putin has exposed a gap in our defences which need cheaper and effective ways of protecting our skies.
Ray CollinsTom Tugendhat, stood beside the drone, told The Sun that the UK must prepare for an incursion of its airspace[/caption]
Ray CollinsThe weapon was downed in Ukraine after being launched by Russia[/caption]
“We need to act on this war as soon as – and Ukraine is providing us invaluable experience.
“We need their experience and that technology in dealing with this stuff.”
The stark warning was issued as top officials showcased an Iranian-made Shahed-136 drone launched by Russia in Speaker’s House at the House of Commons.
This weapon, acquired from Ukraine by UANI, has never before been showcased in Europe.
Officials warn the destructive weapon is the “true face of the Ayatollah” – and serves as a striking warning of the growing threat to the continent’s security.
The drones, branded the modern-day equivalent of the notorious World War Two era Nazi V-1 flying bomb, otherwise known as the “Doodlebug”, have been used by Russia against Ukraine since October 2022 – and mass production started within months.
And the drones prove a nightmare for enemies, with a low production cost lending itself to mass production in a bid to overwhelm anti-missile defence systems.
GettyUkrainian anti-drone units down a Russian-launched Shahed UAV, which crashed in an agricultural field in Donetsk[/caption]
Map shows the drones going past the Ukrainian border and entering Polish airspace
Stretched Ukraine has employed high-end interceptors in a bid to counter attacks as thousands of drones rain down each month.
Tehran initially supplied around 6,000 Shahed to Moscow before beginning a tech transfer programme so Russia could mass produce the drones itself.
Iran has been one of Vladimir Putin’s main backers since he illegally ordered his troops into Ukraine more than three years ago.
As well as supplying the Kremlin, the warped Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei has long bolstered the munitions of terror proxies including Hamas and Hezbollah in the Middle East.
But one of the Ayatollah’s mouthpieces, Larijani, warned in July that its weapons could soon be used against the West.
He said: “Europeans can no longer move about comfortably in their own countries.
“It’s entirely possible that in the near future, five drones could strike a European city.”
Larijani’s claim came off the back of repeated menacing threats against the UK from furious Russia.
Sir Liam Fox and fellow ex-defence chief Penny Mordant both previously told The Sun more must be done to strengthen the UK’s defences to diminish the threat posed by tyrant Putin.
UK must learn from Ukraine
by Katie Davis, Chief Foreign Reporter (Digital)
IMAGINE the terror of being a Ukrainian civilian and you hear the unmistakable Doodle-bug style buzzing of one of Putin’s lethal Shaheds.
Seconds later, one of these enormous machines loaded with bombs comes crashing into your home.
That is the reality facing innocent citizens who cower every night from the tyrant’s air raids – and what was brought home to us today here in Britain.
This monstrous machine – designed exclusively to kill and cause immense devastation, and to do so sheaply, is just one part of Vlad’s vile war machine.
It represents a change in warfare the world must wake up.
Britain, Europe and the US must give Ukraine the defences it needs to fend off these relentless raids that have pummeled the country for more than three years.
But we ourselves need to be ready for the threat of these drones over Europe – or face the consequences.
Putin has not been shy to show he is determined to test the West – which Iran’s callous regime encourages, propping Vlad up with deadly drones such as the Shaheds.
We must be ready.
One day it may not be a hypothetical “what-if” scenario – with incidents such as the incursion on Poland’s airspace getting that little bit closer to home.
Putin has little mercy, nor does the Ayatollah – and if they are to test our defences, prayig they work will not be enough.
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