Secretary of State for Defence makes flying visit to Boscombe Down

The brief visit on Wednesday, April 10, also saw Grant Shapps go to Porton Down to check out a new British military laser which could be rushed on to the front line in Ukraine to take down Russian drones.

John Glenn joins Grant shapps in the Cockpit of the Ex Empire Test Pilots Hawk Jet prototype XX154 (Image: Laverstock and Ford Parish Council)

Mr Shapps holds a pilot licence, and this may well have been a driver for his interest in the historic Military Collection, which was formally accredited Museum status by Arts Council England in 2023.

Parish Councillors were able to show-off the Boscombe Down Aviation Collection and the work the team do, led by Directors David Berryman and Squadron Leader John Sharpe, to showcase local Aviation History and in particular, the important role Old Sarum Airfield played in both wars.

L-R Cllr Kevin Lynn, Cllr Lainey Barker, John Glen, Grant Shapps, Cllr Laura Jones, Cllr Cindy Vanstone, Cllr Estele Williams (Image: Laverstock and Ford Parish Council)

On the night of the visit, Laverstock and Ford Parish Councillor Lainey Barker welcomed Invited guests including Philip Wilkinson, the Wiltshire Police and Crime commissioner, MP for Salisbury John Glen, and Wiltshire Councillor Richard Rogers, and before the tour of the BDAC began some questions were asked about the state of military housing, the country's realistic defence capabilities, and a question was posed by a member of the British Maritime Foundation in the form of a plea to rescue the Ships anchor of the RN HMS Prince of Wales, which was confiscated by Malaysian Police from scavengers, and to see it brought home.

Mr Shapps then sat in the cockpit of Ex-ETPS Hawk (XX154 the Military jet prototype of the very first Hawk). 

Ron Fulton, Technical Director, and the team said they were very happy to explain the ins and outs of the plane, and it was with some reluctance Mr Shapps was eventually given the nod by his team that it was time to go and prep for his visit to Porton Down the next day.

At Porton Down, Mr Shapps was inspecting the  DragonFire weapon, which is expected to be ready for deployment by 2027 at the latest, and which he said could have “huge ramifications” for conflict in Europe.

New reforms aimed at speeding up procurement mean the laser, originally set to be rolled out in 2032, will now be operational five years earlier than planned, according to the Ministry of Defence.

Mr Shapps said he would look to see if the pace can be increased even further “in order for Ukrainians perhaps to get their hands on it”.

“I’ve come down to speed up the production of the DragonFire laser system because I think given that there’s two big conflicts on, one sea-based, one in Europe, this could have huge ramifications to have a weapon capable particularly of taking down drones,” Mr Shapps said.

“And so what I want to do is speed up what would usually be a very lengthy development procurement process, possibly up to 10 years, based on my conversations this morning, to a much shorter timeframe to get it deployed, potentially on ships, incoming drones, and potentially on land.

“Again, incoming drones, but it doesn’t take much imagination see how that could be helpful in Ukraine for example.”

Boscombe Down Aviation Collection is open six days a week, from Tuesday to Sunday from 10am till 4pm, in Hangar 1 South, Old Sarum Airfield, Old Sarum.