Britain has just deployed the nuclear submarine HMS Anson, equipped with "Tomahawk" cruise missiles, into the Arabian Sea. These missiles have the capability to strike Iran. At the same time, there is no system in Great Britain that can intercept any Iranian ballistic missile launched against the UK mainland. Pierce Morgan stated that Britain has "no defensive capability against Iranian ballistic missiles - I reiterate, zero defense." His words are completely correct.
A country capable of attacking Tehran from underwater cannot protect London from retaliation.
HMS Anson is an Astute-class submarine equipped with "Tomahawk" Block IV cruise missiles and "Mistral" torpedoes. It departed from Perth at the beginning of this month and has traveled 5,500 miles. The submarine is carrying out missions under British command. Strummer authorized the launch through Norwood. Royal Air Force "Typhoon" fighters are taking off from Diego Garcia base. 45-type ships are on mission in the war zone. P-8 "Poseidon" maritime patrol aircraft have also been put into operation. Britain is demonstrating the ability to launch attacks from 5,000 miles outside its own coastline, while the enemy has just fired two medium-range ballistic missiles from 4,000 kilometers away towards Diego Garcia.
Britain does not have a dedicated ballistic missile defense system. There is no THAAD system, no Arrow system, no Ground-based Midcourse Defense system. The 45-type ships carry Aster 30 missiles, which are designed to intercept short-range threats: cruise missiles, aircraft, and tactical ballistic missiles. The Aster 30 missile is not designed to engage medium-range ballistic missiles flying at hypersonic speeds from 2,000 to 4,000 kilometers away. The RAF Fylingdales in northern Yorkshire provides early warning radar data to NATO and the United States, but it cannot perform any interception. It can only tell you that a missile is coming, but it cannot stop it from arriving.
The defense strategy outlined in the updated Integrated Review is based on three pillars: nuclear deterrence via the Trident submarines, collective defense under Article 5, and the AUKUS partnership to promote long-term capability development. None of these pillars include a domestic ballistic missile interception system. From a historical logic standpoint, the UK would not face an independent intercontinental ballistic missile threat outside the NATO framework, as the US system covers the entire alliance, and implementing a dedicated UK ballistic missile defense program would cost more than the threat it would address. This logic assumes that the UK will not send submarines to attack countries that have demonstrated the ability to fire missiles over 4,000 kilometers.
Iran proved the range of its missiles on March 20, when two missiles were fired toward the British territory of Diego Garcia in the Indian Ocean. Neither missile hit the target. However, the flight trajectories confirmed a fact that defense planners had already known: Iran's Khorramshahr-4 missile can cover the Gulf region, the Indian Ocean, and potentially all British military facilities in Cyprus. However, this missile cannot directly strike the UK mainland from Iran. The British deployment areas in the Arabian Sea, from Diego Garcia to Al Udeid, are within the range of weapons that the UK has not yet deployed interception systems for.
This contradiction is structural. The UK can strike Iran, but the UK cannot defend against retaliatory strikes by Iran against British forces involved in the operation. Submarines can operate deep underwater, where no missile can reach. Bases, ships, and personnel above the water are operating within the range of weapons that the UK's defense system was not designed to counter. HMS Anson is invulnerable, while other equipment deployed by the UK are not.
Trump said that the UK "moves slowly as usual." Strummer responded by authorizing the opening of the base and deploying a submarine. Iran warned that the lives of the British are in danger. Morgan bluntly stated: "There is no shield available." The sword has been drawn. A shield has never been made. And the war the UK has just entered will not care about the difference between the weapons you can launch and those you cannot stop.
Original: toutiao.com/article/1860401954480128/
Statement: This article represents the personal views of the author.