Britain is planning a 'Dad's Army-style home guard' to protect airports and power plants against terror attacks - with thousands to be recruited
A Dad's Army-style home guard could be set up to protect airports and power plants against attack from terrorists and enemy states, it was claimed last night.
Modelled on the famous citizens' militia created in the 1940s to face up the threat of invasion by Nazi Germany, it would reportedly be made up of several thousand volunteers who would safeguard key national assets.
Plans for a new force of modern-day Captain Mainwarings and Sergeant Wilsons are said to be a key part of the Government's forthcoming strategic defence review.
Details of how the new home guard would be recruited and operate would be worked up by the Ministry of Defence in the coming months.
But it would apparently be separate from existing organisations, such as the army reserves.
The Sunday Times reported that the defence review will focus heavily on home security, national resilience and the need for the public to realise that Britain had entered a 'pre-war era' as tensions rise with Russia and its allies.
The long-awaited study, led by former Nato secretary general and Labour peer Lord Robertson, is also understood to call for greater air defence against enemy missiles.
But it is also expected to recommend a dramatic increase in the use of high-tech drones and unmanned vehicles to learn the lessons of the current conflict between Ukraine and Russia.
Drones are already increasingly used in the Armed Forces mainly for close surveillance.
But the Mail on Sunday was told that the defence review, to be published within weeks, would recommend a radical expansion of their use which would potentially involve equipping the Royal Navy with a squadron of unmanned planes operating from one of its carriers.
The RAF would get the ability to deploy laser-armed swarming drones deployed from the new Tempest fighter jet.
And the Army would be given a new drones regiment, with troops also getting new long-range artillery.
Two weeks ago, Defence Secretary John Healey hinted at the changes as he said on X that 'we've seen warfare changing [and] we are now learning the lessons from Ukraine'.
And standing in front of a Eurofighter Typhoon, he spoke of how 'traditional, state-of-the-art fighter jets like this' would be 'working in future with drones you can put together in five minutes'.
But last night, Tory defence spokesman James Cartlidge warned: 'If we are about to see this vital new investment in our nation's defences, it's not before time.
'But Labour's record so far has been penny-pinching over actual, necessary procurement.'
There are claims that the defence review will fail to live up to the Government's boast that it was a 'root and branch' examination of the military's real future needs, with some key procurement decisions postponed till the Autumn.
The Ministry of Defence said reports of major new investment in drones were 'speculation'.
But a spokesman added that the defence review 'sets out a path for the next decade to transform the Armed Forces to ensure we're prepared for emerging threats - making Britain secure at home and strong abroad'.
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