Britain should work with Nato on new missile defence system to counter Russia, experts say

"Fiona Hill, a former White House adviser, said that Russia was testing the limits of Europe's defences at a time when the military commitment of the US to Nato was uncertain. The message from this is that there needs to create an integrated air and ballistic missile defence system and that Europeans are going to have to realise they will have to do this themselves, said Hill, who was part of the three-strong team."

"The independent defence expert said that while the US says they stand by [their] allies, such words mean nothing because they would be unlikely to be accompanied by extra American military deployments to defend Nato's eastern flank. Donald Trump had no desire to go to war, except at home, Hill said, citing the US president's repeated comments that he would like to deploy the military in Chicago in an extreme effort to crack down on crime."

"Poland's prime minister, Donald Tusk, said on Monday that three or four out of 19 Russian drones were shot down, raising concerns that the interception rate was relatively low and that Moscow could cause more serious damage in future. Some of the drones flew over a hundred miles into Polish airspace. Gen Alexus Gregory Grynkewich, Nato's supreme allied commander for Europe, said that he had low confidence in the drone numbers previously reported, suggesting the defenders were not immediately clear what they were dealing with."

Nearly 20 Russian drones entered Polish airspace, with some flying over a hundred miles into Poland. Three or four out of 19 drones were shot down, raising concerns that the interception rate was relatively low and that Moscow could cause more serious damage in future. Russia tested the limits of Europe's defences during a period of uncertainty about US military commitment to NATO. An integrated air and ballistic missile defence system is needed, and Europeans will have to develop it themselves. The US is unlikely to provide extra American deployments to defend NATO's eastern flank. NATO commanders noted low confidence in earlier drone counts and pledged efforts to improve defence of every inch of alliance airspace. The UK and Ukraine have an agreement, Project Octopus, to develop drones to intercept Russian Shaheds.

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