Britain only has FOUR fighter jets ready to deploy if nuke-armed Putin strikes – RAF is not prepared, warns ex-commander
Watch The Sun's exclusive interview with Air Marshal Greg Bagwell
BRITAIN has just four fighter jets ready to scramble immediately in the face of an impending Russian attack on UK soil, a former RAF commander has warned.
Air Marshal Greg Bagwell told The Sun Britain’s Armed Forces do not have the capabilities to defend against a “significant” attack by Vladimir Putin’s forces if he were to strike tomorrow.
He warned that two decades of relative peace in the post-Cold War era has meant Britain – like much of European Nato – has become complacent to the Russian threat and not invested in the military.
And this lack of foresight means the UK’s “second class” armed forces only have the capacity to respond to a “limited” Russian attack involving a few aircraft and missiles.
Even then, Air Marshal Bagwell, who served in the RAF for 36 years, said Britain’s limited number of aircraft, defence systems and weapons would quickly become “stretched”.
But if an unhinged Putin decided to launch a major attack on Britain like we’ve seen in Ukraine, the former combat pilot warned the RAF would become overwhelmed.
Air Marshal Bagwell, who led countless missions as deputy commander, said there are only four Eurofighter Typhoons ready to scramble immediately as part of Britain’s Quick Reaction Alert (QRA).
He said two fighter jets are based at RAF Lossiemouth in Scotland and the other two are at RAF Coningsby in Lincolnshire.
The veteran said the rest of the Air Force could stand up “relatively quickly” and prepare other aircraft in response to an enemy threat – but warned our resources would soon run out.
Air Marshall Bagwell also worringly revealed to The Sun that the weapons and spares in Britain’s arsenal would soon run out.
That’s because UK’s missiles are “designed for short wars of choice where we don’t expect a significant air threat to be present”.
Air Marshall Bagwell told The Sun: “For a relatively limited strike, we have the capabilities to respond but the aircraft and the weapons to do that would run out quite quickly.
“Our aircraft are integrated into the Nato systems so others protect us too – especially from the East, but the North is a little more tricky.”
The former fighter pilot warned: “We don’t have the entire air force on alert today, we’re not in the Battle of Britain. We don’t have planes on alert spread across the country.
“The aircraft that we do have are not going to defend against a significant attack like we’re seeing in Ukraine every day.”
Air Marshal Bagwell warned the UK – along with European militaries – had stopped preparing for a major war and run their armed forces to the ground after two decades of peace in the Cold War era.
He insisted the UK must bolster its armed forces – or Putin will smell weakness and strike an unprepared Britain in a worst-case scenario.
The former deputy commander warned: “If we were going to be facing something like Ukraine faces every day, we’d have to put the entire Air Force on alert, and even then it would be stretched.”
He added that if Russia had launched a “surprise air attack”, it would take too long to prepare other aircraft to respond.
The aircraft Britain does have are not going to defend against a significant attack like we’re seeing in Ukraine every day.
Greg Bagwell
Air Marshal Bagwell said: “The trick is predicting that surprise with enough time.”
The veteran pointed to how there are only six squadrons at RAF Lossiemouth and RAF Coningsby – and they would quickly become worn out.
He told The Sun: “With only six Typhoon squadrons and at least three overseas deployments that would wear them out and their weapon stockpiles quite quickly.”
The former deputy commander says the UK has around 130 Typhoons in total – but that number will drop to around 100 next year.
And he warned: “Of those, not all will be ready to fly.”
The RAF veteran said the rest of the UK’s Armed Forces are also in dire straits.
He pointed to how the Royal Navy has six Type-45 missile air defence destroyers – but the majority are either under maintenance or deployed to the Gulf.
The UK’s missiles are designed for short wars of choice where we don’t expect a significant air threat to be present
Greg Bagwell
Defence Procurement Minister James Cartlidge said earlier this year that HMS Daring, HMS Dragon and HMS Defender are all currently under maintenance.
And HMS Diamond, one of Britain’s most advanced warships, is currently deployed to the Red Sea to protect global shipping from Houthi rebel attacks.
Air Marshal Bagwell also said most of Britain’s ground-based air defence systems are deployed abroad to territories like the Falkland Islands.
The veteran said: “We’re thin, really thin because we didn’t buy these weapons and systems for the type of threat [Putin poses].
“We kind of wished that threat away but it’s turned up now.”
When asked about how long it could take to get all Type-45s back in action, he said: “It’s going to take months to try and bring them back online because of the maintenance that’s required on them.
“They’re going through an update program so that would take a long time.”
Air Marshal Bagwell said the Air Force could stand up “relatively quickly” – but our resources would soon run out.
The former deputy commander warned: “If you told the Air Force tomorrow, everybody on alert.
“But how long for? A week, a month, a year? You’d wear it out.
“And I can tell you now that the number of missiles that we possess are designed for short wars of choice where we don’t expect a significant air threat to be present.”
Our Air Force would be worn out in the face of a significant Russian threat
Greg Bagwell
A defence source told The Sun the force on standby was driven by intelligence reports.
They said: “This is always intelligence-led and if we had intelligence of an imminent air or missile attack then you would have loads more on standby.
“But there is no point having them all sitting at RAF Conningsby or RAF Lossiemouth waiting for something to happen.
“We have six in Romania at the moment, on a Nato air policing mission, because that is where the threat is. We have some in Cyprus.
“And if anything was fired at Britain then the chances are all of Nato would be involved in the response, not least because missiles from Russia would likely have to go through or close to allies’ air space before they reach the UK.”
An MOD spokesperson said: “The UK is well prepared for any event and defence of the UK would be taken alongside our NATO allies.
“Readiness levels are regularly reviewed in relation to the threat faced by both the UK and NATO and military assets are deployed accordingly.”
Army chiefs say Britain must bolster defences
Air Marshal Bagwell joins army chiefs in telling The Sun that Britain and the rest of Europe must bolster their defences to deter Russia from striking the West.
Poland’s Prime Minister Donald Tusk has also warned that Europe is not ready for a devastating escalation of the war in Ukraine should Putin prove victorious.
The veteran politician gave a chilling message, saying Europe has entered a “pre-war era” worringly similar to 1939 – when Hitler prepared to invade Poland.
General Richard Barrons previously told The Sun European Nato members must bolster their defences rather than looking at each other to foot the bill for the alliance’s defence.
He said while Europe squabbles over who should pay what, Russia has increased its defence spending to 6 per cent of GDP.
General Barrons pointed to how Defence Secretary Grant Shapps warned that the UK is in a “pre-war world”, yet the Treasury had no major announcement on defence spending in the Spring Budget.
On top of that, the government has no plans to increase the size of the army from its current level of about 74,000 full-time troops, down from 102,000 in 2006.
A second former British Army General warned the UK’s army, which has shrunk by nearly 30 per cent since 2,000, is now “too small” to pose any real deterrence power against Russia.
The former General, who wished to remain anonymous, told The Sun: “If Britain wants to be a serious player in Nato and if we want to be taken seriously by the US, which is our principle military ally, then we need to invest properly in defence.
“We need to be closer to 4 per cent of GDP on defence than 2 per cent but I fully accept that means making cuts elsewhere.”
The veteran, who served in Afghanistan, warned the British army is now “second class” and lacks the personnel, modern equipment and ammunition to be a serious player in Nato.
Rishi Sunak vows to bring back National Service
PRIME MINISTER Rishi Sunak has vowed to bring back compulsory National Service if the Tories win the general election.
Every British 18-year-old man and woman will be expected to serve Britain for a year under the proposed scheme.
Teens will be able to choose between two options – a full-time placement in the Armed Forces or volunteering with charities or civic groups at weekends.
A Royal Commission will be set up to look at how roll out the scheme.
But the Sun on Sunday understands those who refuse to take part will not face criminal sanctions.
Mr Sunak said: “This is a great country but generations of young people have not had the opportunities or experience they deserve — and there are forces trying to divide our society in this uncertain world.
“I have a clear plan to address this and secure our future.
“I will bring in a new version of National Service to create a shared sense of purpose among our young people and a renewed sense of pride in our country.”
The PM announced the radical pledge after warning the world is more dangerous now than at any point since the Cold War.
The military expert added: “The army is now too small to go up against an adversary like Russia.
“We’re not spending enough money on ammunition, we’ve got Royal Artillery units without guns and tank sheds that are no longer filled with tanks.
“It’s a whole world of problems. If we had to go to war in the next couple of years against Russia, we would be stuffed.”
General Barrons said the situation the UK finds itself in is “ridiculous”.
He pointed to how the government is warning the public about living in a dangerous pre-war era that we can’t ignore, but in the next breath saying “we can’t afford to do anything about it”.
General Barrons said: “That’s not going to work. We cannot live in a situation where our security is somehow unaffordably unaffordable.
“This is ridiculous.”
And the rest of Nato do not fare much better than the UK.
Nearly 20 countries including France, Germany, Italy and Spain fail to pay the required 2 per cent of their GDP on defence.
