It has no medium- or long-range air-defence systems capable of intercepting ballistic missiles, cruise missiles, or hostile drones. Instead, the UK still relies heavily on RAF Quick Reaction Alert fighters — a doctrine rooted in the Second World War and dangerously outdated in an era defined by hypersonic missiles, mass drone swarms, and long-range precision strikes.

At the same time, the Royal Air Force and other branches of the British military continue to shrink. Years of underfunding, political neglect, and shifting priorities have reduced them to a fraction of the forces that once projected global power. Each year, the gap between the UK's strategic ambitions and its real capabilities grows wider.

Successive British governments have allowed this slow unraveling, prioritizing foreign political agendas — often involving outreach to Islamist actors abroad — instead of reinforcing national defense. The cumulative effect is stark: a once-formidable military power is now exposed, vulnerable, and ill-prepared for the threats of the modern battlefield.