The United States pulled its Iran attack bombers out of Britain due to the lack of adequate air defences, Kemi Badenoch suggested today as she unveiled Tory plans for a 'Britannia Shield'.

The Conservative leader announced plans for a £10billion system to guard cities, power plants and Army bases from missiles and drones fired by enemies such as Russia or Iran.

The Tories say it is needed because Labour – which has still not set out how it will reach its target of spending 3 per cent of GDP on defence by 2030 – is failing to do enough to guarantee the security of the UK, its overseas territories and bases in an increasingly hostile world. 

The announcement came after the US Air Force pulled its B-1 bombers out of RAF Fairford and ordered them to retreat to the United States over reported fears of drone attacks. 

Pentagon officials were allegedly worried about a copycat attack on RAF Fairford by Iran similar to Ukraine's Operation Spiderweb in June 2025 which destroyed ten Russian aircraft.

Writing in The Sun today, Ms Badenoch said: 'Is it any wonder the US are pulling their bombers out of RAF Fairford? 

'They don't believe the Government is doing what's necessary to defend our country from hostile states.'

Britannia Shield would provide a network of radar, command and control systems, interceptors and counter-drone capabilities.

Mrs Badenoch said the system would be different from Israel's Iron Dome, after the Tories initially likened their plans to the Israeli defence programme.

'The world will not wait for Britain to get ready. War has returned to Europe. Missiles and drones are transforming warfare in the Middle East,' she said.

'Cheap weapons can now threaten cities, military bases and critical infrastructure in ways that would have sounded like science fiction a generation ago.'

However, a former senior RAF commander suggested that such a system would not be much use if somewhere like RAF Fairford was attacked.

Air Marshal Greg Bagwell told Times Radio: 'If that was a sort of local drone launch from nearby, near an airfield, then that's something that would be relatively quick and difficult to detect with a national system. 

'What you would need is a local system based around the airfield itself... the danger here with using these catchy terms is it does imply a 100 per cent completely proof system, and that's just not going to be delivered. 

'So you're really talking here about a layered system that is able to take the most least sophisticated threats and the most sophisticated, the most sophisticated being ballistic missiles.' 

There were fresh warnings on Monday that president Vladimir Putin is putting lives at risk in Europe as Russian drones and missiles menaced Moldova. 

Projectiles fired during an attack on Ukraine hit a passenger bus across the border just days after drones entered the country's airspace and scattered debris. 

Moldova, a country between Ukraine and Romania, was once part of the Soviet Union.

EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said: 'Europe has seen a spike in the Russian hybrid attacks and sabotage attempts and airspace violations in recent weeks. Russian missiles and drones violated Moldovan airspace again over the weekend. This is completely unacceptable.'

The Tories, who have already pledged to increase defence spending by £10billion a year by cutting welfare, say their Integrated Air and Missile Defence system could be deployed within five years.

Tory defence spokesman James Cartlidge, who will set out details in his speech to the party's conference in Birmingham on Tuesday, added: 'With a £10billion budget, this would be one of Britain's most significant military programmes since the Cold War.

'But one that is totally necessary because of the threats we face. And only possible because of our willingness to take the tough decisions to fund defence.'

The promise comes after a report by the Commons defence committee last year highlighted warnings that Britain has 'next to nothing' in air defences compared with its allies.

The threats to the country were illustrated on Monday as the US dramatically withdrew its long-range bombers from RAF Fairford in Gloucestershire over fears of an Iranian plot against the base. 

Russian drones have previously been sighted over the base as well as RAF Lakenheath in Suffolk. Just last week the Kremlin warned that it would retaliate with 'nuclear weapons' if Britain or Nato took military action against its territory.

Over the summer Moscow threatened to target UK factories in response to Government support for Ukraine.

Meanwhile, intelligence services in Germany warned that the Kremlin's 'shadow war' against Europe is entering a more dangerous phase.

Iran is also seen as a growing threat after drones launched by its proxies hit RAF Akrotiri in Cyprus and Tehran fired missiles at the Chagos islands, home to the crucial joint UK-US Diego Garcia military base.

The Tories' Britannia Shield is inspired by Israel's multibillion-dollar Iron Dome, which has proved highly effective since 2011.

Replicating the system here would be difficult, however, because the UK's landmass is 11 times greater and it has many more large cities.

At a Tory conference on Tuesday, Labour will be accused of dithering and delay over defence funding.

A Labour spokesman insisted: 'Andy Burnham's Labour Government is delivering the biggest sustained increase in defence spending since the Cold War. Keeping Britain safe is the first priority of this Government.'

DAILY MAIL COMMENT: Andy Burnham is shirking his responsibility to protect us from hostile powers but Kemi's committed to keeping Britain safe