Kemi Badenoch has pledged £10billion towards the construction of an “iron dome” air defence system to protect Britain.Inspired by Israel’s highly effective rocket-intercept system, the so-called “Britannia Shield” would provide a network of radar and command-and-control systems to detect incoming strikes, the Conservatives announced on the third day of their party conference.Mrs Badenoch said the system, armed with interceptor missiles and counter-drone capabilities, would protect all of the UK, its sovereign territories and British bases overseas in one of the largest military programmes since the Cold War.Speaking in Birmingham, she said: “The world will not wait for Britain to get ready. War has returned to Europe. Missiles and drones are transforming warfare in the Middle East.”Cheap weapons can now threaten cities, military bases and critical infrastructure in ways that would have sounded like science fiction a generation ago.”She added: “The threat is here. Britain must be ready. And Britannia Shield will help make sure we are.”GB News has previously highlighted the UK’s vulnerability to a ballistic missile strike, with no equivalent to US Patriot air defence systems.The UK currently relies on Royal Navy Type 45 destroyers for protection against strikes, but this requires the warship to be prepared, which has been increasingly thrown into question after years of underfunding under both Conservative and Labour governments.Israel’s Iron Dome missile air defence system (pictured) will serve as the inspiration for the ‘Britannia Shield’ | GETTYMrs Badenoch has pledged to spend three per cent of gross domestic product on defence by 2030, a target for which Andy Burnham is yet to set out his own deadline, which the Tories say would provide an additional £10billion a year.Conservatives would fund the plans by reinstating the two-child benefit cap and reforming housing benefits after the Prime Minister said funding defence should not come “at the expense of social security”.Mrs Badenoch said the funding was necessary because “only Government can defend the country”.”Yet Labour still will not commit the money Britain needs for defence,” she added.Kemi Badenoch warned that the ‘threat is here’ and ‘Britain must be ready’ | PA”They keep pouring billions into a broken welfare system while leaving our security underfunded. When forced to choose, they pick social security over national security.”Conservatives choose differently. We have fully funded defence spending at three per cent of GDP by 2030, because keeping Britain safe cannot be another promise for some distant point in the future.”The air defence system would cost around £1billion annually for 10 years as part of the pre-existing funding pledge, Conservative officials said.Shadow Defence Secretary James Cartlidge will deliver a speech to the Tory conference on Tuesday and describe the dome as “the most significant upgrade to UK air defence for generations”.The investment was “totally necessary because of the threats we face” and “only possible because of our willingness to take the tough decisions to fund defence”.James Cartlidge will say the Britannia Shield is ‘totally necessary because of the threats we face’ | PAA Labour Party spokesman said: “Trusting the Tories to invest in Britain’s defences would wave a huge white flag to our enemies.”Kemi Badenoch’s Conservatives hollowed out our armed forces, leaving our army at the smallest size since the Napoleonic era. Their dismal record in government speaks for itself and they should never be given responsibility for keeping our country safe again.”Andy Burnham’s Labour Government is delivering the biggest sustained increase in defence spending since the Cold War, including £1 billion investment in air defences.”Keeping Britain safe is the first priority of this government, and through our strategic investment in our defence industries and our unshakeable commitment to Nato and our allies, we are delivering on that promise.”The Government is firmly committed to investing 3.5 per cent of our GDP on defence by 2035, investment that will keep our country safe and help to deliver a new era of industrialisation, backing British by buying British wherever our industry can deliver.”