European air defense system should have attacking potential

By Alimat Aliyeva

The capabilities of the United Kingdom and other European NATO members in the field of air and missile defense should include an attacking capability, Azernews reports.

This was stated by the Chief of Staff of the United Kingdom Air Force, Air Chief Marshal Richard Knighton, speaking at the Royal United Services Institute for Defense and Security Studies (RUSI).

"We should remember the old wisdom that the best defense is an attack," he said, citing as an example the situation of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, which cannot defend themselves from all the planning aerial bombs used by the Russian Aerospace Forces.

"Instead, both they and we need the ability to strike aircraft on the ground that launch such bombs," Knighton added, stressing that any air defense system "must include an attacking element."

The Times notes that Knighton's statements can be interpreted as a call to allow strikes deep into Russian territory with long-range Western weapons. According to a source in the Royal Air Force, British Storm Shadow missiles "may be part of a combination" necessary to "prevent the enemy from taking to the air."

Knighton also drew particular attention to the fact that in potential military conflicts of the future, the United Kingdom and its allies will no longer have an overwhelming advantage in the air.