Britain will deploy its Sky Sabre missile system to Poland as part of measures to beef up the security of Nato’s eastern flank, the defence secretary announced yesterday.
During a visit to Warsaw, Ben Wallace said 100 troops would also be sent as part of the package to help Poland “protect its airspace from any further aggression from Russia”.
He said: “We are going to deploy the Sky Sabre medium-range anti-air missile system to Poland with about 100 personnel to make sure we stand alongside Poland, protecting her airspace from any further aggression by Russia. This is our newest medium-range air-defence missile and has the ability to hit a tennis ball at the speed of sound.”
A spokesman for Boris Johnson said the missile system was being deployed after a request from the Polish government and would remain under the control of British forces at all times. There are fears that Russia could decide to strike weapons shipments coming from western countries and stored in Poland before being handed over to Ukrainian forces.
“It is, as ever, a purely defensive capability which we are providing on a bilateral basis to Poland,” the prime minister’s spokesman added.
Advertisement
The £250 million medium and short-range air-defence system can eliminate fighter aircraft, drones and laser-guided smart bombs. It can control 24 missiles simultaneously in flight, guiding them to intercept 24 targets.
Sky Sabre replaced the UK’s Rapier air-defence system, which had been in service since the 1970s and was deployed to the Falklands. It is unclear how many systems the UK has, although there is presently one in the Falklands and one will go to Poland.
Described by the Ministry of Defence as unprecedented in speed, accuracy and performance, Sky Sabre was delivered to 16 Regiment Royal Artillery last year. It was originally due to be operational in “early 2020”.
It comprises a common anti-air modular missile (Camm), which at 99kg each are double the weight of Rapier and have three times the range. They can reach speeds of 2,300 mph and have a range of 16 miles. Eight missiles are mounted on the launcher, compared with two with Rapier.
They can fire in different directions, which significantly reduces the system’s signature, making it less of a target for adversaries. The launch also re-arms in 30 minutes, less than half the time of Rapier. The Camm is already in use with the French and Italians.
Advertisement
As part of Sky Sabre there is also the Giraffe radar, which rotates 360 degrees on a mast that can extend and scan out to 75 miles for threats. It can track multiple targets simultaneously.
Wallace said: “I hope this sends a message to the Kremlin that don’t doubt us for one second. We will stand together and stand up for our values, and defend our friends such as Poland from any further aggression.”
The 100 British troops will work alongside their Polish counterparts to build up resilience and help with humanitarian issues.
Advertisement
Plans to send Sky Sabre came after a western military source told The Times that President Putin was not happy with the pace of the invasion as set out by his generals and told them that they needed to go faster. Rather than tell him his ambition was not possible, they said they could do it, resulting in a battle plan that was doomed to fail from the start, analysts believe.
A western official said: “It clearly is not going the way that Russia planned. Not only is it not going the way that it was planned, but even as they have adjusted to a rather more grinding form of warfare, that is stalling as well.”
British security and military figures are trying to work out how long Russia may be able to go on for, given it has already lost thousands of soldiers and billions of pounds worth of equipment. Some former military chiefs believe Russia has only ten days before it exhausts ammunition and manpower.
The Russian strategy appears to be to bombard city centres to try to pulverise the resistance within them and to encircle them wherever possible, officials believe. There are fears that the more Russian forces struggle to take cities, the greater the chance of Putin deploying more brutal methods.
