HMS Dragon still not in Cyprus after dithering in English Channel for three days | World | News
A Royal Navy destroyer sent to protect British forces following a drone attack on Cyprus spent three days in the English Channel before finally clearing British waters. The £1bn air defense warship HMS Dragon set sail from Portsmouth on Tuesday but did not leave British waters until yesterday despite being ordered to head to the eastern Mediterranean following an attack on the British base at RAF Akrotiri.
The Type 45 destroyer, one of the Navy’s most advanced air defense ships, had already been delayed for a week for repairs before its departure. The first thing the battleship did after leaving Portsmouth Harbor was to turn off its transponder, which normally broadcasts its location to other ships. However, instead of sailing immediately for the Atlantic, the ship spent three days crossing the Channel before passing Land’s End and heading south.
At one stage it was planned that HMS Dragon would call Plymouth for a crew change. This plan was canceled after senior Royal Navy commanders ordered the ship to continue its deployment. Sun.
The destroyer was dispatched after Prime Minister Keir Starmer ordered a naval response after RAF Akrotiri was hit by an Iranian drone on March 1. The drone evaded air defenses and crashed into a hangar used by US surveillance planes, near family accommodation on the base. Senior officers then ordered the military’s dependents to evacuate due to fear of further attacks.
This incident raised questions about the UK’s preparedness because none of the Royal Navy’s six Type 45 destroyers were at sea when the drone struck. Although three, including HMS Dragon, were classified as operational, the ship was still in dry dock at the time, with guns unmounted and surrounded by scaffolding. Sailors and engineers worked day and night to prepare the ship for deployment, loading Sea Viper missiles and supplies.
Navy sources insisted the crew had condensed weeks of preparation into a few days, saying they effectively completed “six weeks of work in six days.” Despite this effort, the delays intensified criticism that Britain was leaving its forces exposed due to rising tensions with Iran.
Former First Sea Lord Alan West warned that the incident showed a lack of strategic awareness in the government. Lord West said: “The Government has no understanding of the importance of sea power. There is not a single warship between Singapore and Gibraltar. It is surprising that no one had the geopolitical understanding to make these decisions sooner.”
The Ministry of Defense confirmed that the destroyer continued its passage towards the eastern Mediterranean. A Ministry of Defense spokesman said: “The aim of this deployment is to help protect the UK’s assets and interests in the region.” The spokesman added that it is not unusual for military ships to complete final maintenance work while at sea shortly after departure.
The urgency of the mission becomes clear as the broader regional crisis deepens. A French soldier was killed and several others were injured in a drone attack in Erbil, Iraq. RAF Regiment troops armed with Martlet missiles repeatedly intercepted drones around a joint Special Forces base.
British warplanes fly defensive patrols in the Gulf region, including Bahrain, while Typhoons and F-35s carry out air defense missions over Qatar, Cyprus, the UAE and Jordan. Meanwhile, Iran has begun laying naval mines in the Strait of Hormuz, a strategic shipping route through which roughly one-fifth of the world’s oil supply passes, raising fears that the already unstable conflict will escalate further.
Express.co.uk has contacted the Ministry of Defense for further comment.
