Britain withdraws air defences from Poland amid warnings we need more at home
BRITAIN is withdrawing its air defences from Nato’s eastern frontier – amid warnings we need more at home.
Sky Sabre rockets and radars have been shielding Poland for two and a half years.
It comes amid warnings the UK is “woefully exposed” due to lack of an Israel-style Iron Dome.
Royal Artillery gunners deployed to Poland’s Rzeszow airport – just 40 miles from the Ukraine border – to protect deliveries of troops and weapons in March 2022.
Their radars – known as Giraffes – have a range of 300 miles and tracked thousands of Russian missiles and drones blasting western Ukraine.
They are designed to intercept jets and cruise missiles and can fire up to 24 missiles at 24 separate targets to fend off a so-called “saturation attack”.
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But they can’t stop ballistic missiles like the Oreshnik Russia blasted at Ukraine last month.
Gunners deployed their remaining Giraffe radars to protect US Air Force bases last month from a spate of illegal drone flights.
The UK relies on its Royal Navy destroyers to intercept ballistic missiles with devastating Sea Viper missiles.
The MoD said: “Sky Sabre will be reconstituted in the UK, ensuring that the UK Armed Forces has flexibility on operational requirements in future, including training more personnel.”
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Norway has deployed its F-35 jets and Nasam air defence missiles to replace the Sky Sabre systems.
And Poland has ordered 1000 air defence missile launchers and more than 100 launchers as part of a £4bn deal with the UK.
Warsaw has ramped up defence spending to 4.7 per cent.
But Labour has failed to say when it will meet its election promise of spending 2.5 per cent on defence.
