Conservative Leader Kemi Badenoch has proposed a £10-billion national air defense network named Britannia Shield.
The plan was presented on October 6 at the Conservative Party conference in Birmingham, where she also challenged Prime Minister Andy Burnham over public spending.
The proposed network would deploy radar systems, command nodes, and mobile interceptor missiles to protect critical national infrastructure from modern aerial threats.
Funding would come from repurposing net-zero budgets and reducing welfare expenditures.
In her conference address, Badenoch targeted the Prime Minister's previous record in Jeremy Corbyn's shadow cabinet.
She questioned the financial feasibility of his proposals, saying: "He was the shadow home secretary nodding along to a man who wanted to take the UK out of NATO give up our nuclear deterrent and even disband our army."
Badenoch also mocked the public perception surrounding the Prime Minister's political appeal.
"Don't let this man fool you with his fluttering eyelashes and his pork scratchings," she said.
Speaking to the BBC about the defense project's technical capabilities and scope, Badenoch explained that the initiative addresses specific domestic military requirements rather than replicating foreign models directly.
"We're very worried and we have found 3% of GDP to spend on defence by 2030," she said.
"This is more than anyone else is doing," she added.
The Conservatives outlined several accompanying policy commitments alongside the defense strategy.
These include a £2-billion annual plan to build 50,000 new prison spaces funded by foreign aid cuts.
Other commitments include new benefit mandates for unemployed citizens under 25 and restrictions preventing long-term welfare payments from being spent on alcohol, tobacco, and gambling.
