Britain is preparing for attacks on its territory. Critics say he needs to act faster

LONDON – The last British military force dedicated to defending the homeland was disbanded in 1992 after NATO leaders hailed a “promising era” of peace in Europe following the end of the Cold War and the government began cutting military spending.

More than three decades later, Britain is once again preparing for the possible Attacks on your soil.

With the Secretary General of NATO, Mark Rutteby telling his allies this month that “conflict is at our doorstep,” Russia saying it was “ready” for war with Europe, and the president’s increasingly vocal hostility Donald Trump The British government is developing what it calls a “whole-of-society approach to deterrence and defense” with European heads of state and government.

It explains that a comprehensive national defense program will unite military, police and government agencies to prepare for multiple scenarios.

Although a ground invasion is not considered likely, military experts say the Royal United Services Institute, A British defense research institute said the war in Ukraine and a series of hybrid attacks in Europe had highlighted the possibility of attacks on critical infrastructure through sabotage and drones.

Some military experts and lawmakers believe the government not acting fast enough.

“We are prepared not primarily to resist an armed attack, but also to the broader threats,” said Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi, a Labor lawmaker and chairman of Parliament’s defense committee.

He pointed to the cutting of submarine cables and the steady increase in Russian-backed cyberattacks.

“The country’s defense program is progressing at breakneck speed,” he said.

Paul O’Neillsenior researcher at RUSI, said Britain’s defenses were “quite behind” those of many Baltic and Nordic countries such as Finland, which have long had military service programs and trained civilians for conflict.

O’Neill, a former Royal Air Force officer, raised concerns about training capacity and said the Ministry of Defense’s sale of bases and housing in the 2010s could make it difficult for Britain to quickly build a national defense force.

“I think it’s going to be a long road for the UK to really make something meaningful out of this,” he explained.

Earlier this year, Prime Minister Keir Starmer announced a historic increase in military spending that would reach 2.5% of total economic output by 2027, citing the “generational challenge” posed by Russia.

In June, the government released a strategic defense report that said the country must be “ready for war.”

This document called on the government to create a new national defense force that would protect military bases and civilian infrastructure such as energy and water facilities.

That recommendation will be implemented, according to a military official who was not authorized to speak publicly.

However, options for expanding the force are still being examined, the official added, and are not expected to be presented to the defense minister until December 2026.

On the other hand, Great Britain is working on it Recruit more reservists Volunteers receiving training in the Army, Navy or Air Force.

In addition, training and recruitment for the “strategic reserve“, which includes former military personnel who may be called back to active duty.

Now that the regular British Army has been reduced to around 70,000 full-time trained soldiers (the smaller quantity Since the beginning of the Napoleonic Wars) it is expected that the protection of the homeland will also extend beyond the military area.

Participating organizations also include the police, who took part in exercises including: chemical attack simulated in a rural Cambridgeshire village last month.

Mark Williams, national police chief of civil emergencies, leads a task force that plans for disasters such as floods and pandemics.

You have now created a dedicated feature for home defense.

“We need to think about how we prepare society for potential conflict, whether foreign or domestic,” Williams said in an interview with The New York Times.

He added that police were considering how officers would support the military “should the worst happen”:

a new war, drone strikes, power outages.

They are also examining how the deployment of British forces abroad would affect public order in Britain, where a significant number of armed police are army reservists.

Williams said the talks were “very immature because there is a greater need for government cooperation and clarity about what is expected of us.”

During the Second World War 1.7 million menIn the 1990s, over or under draft age or unfit for the front, they volunteered for the British Home Guard, training for a possible Nazi invasion.

In the 1950s and 1960s, a similar group, the Civil Defense Corps, prepared for possible nuclear attacks.

The National Service Force was created in 1982 but was disbanded after the Cold War.

The British government has released few details of the national defense program.

In a statement, he said he would ensure the harmonization of military and civilian efforts:

Investing in national defense, increasing national resilience, and reconnecting the public with those who serve them.

He added that he will more than invest 1 billion pounds in strengthening air and missile defense and will present a defense preparedness bill in parliament.

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