Terrifying warning issued on state of UK’s Royal Navy – ‘Starmer has done NOTHING’ | World | News

The debacle with HMS Dragon shows the Royal Navy is not fit for purpose and cannot run even a modest Libya-style operation today, a leading naval expert has warned. The Type 45 destroyer, deployed from Portsmouth less than a month ago to help protect British air bases in Cyprus amid the Iran conflict, was forced to dock in the Eastern Mediterranean for repairs to its water systems.

The Ministry of Defense described the problem as minor, saying the ship was in a high state of readiness and the crew still had access to water for drinking, eating and showering. However, critics, including maritime historians and historians, Warships IFR editor Iain Ballantyne sees this incident as symptomatic of deeper, long-standing problems with readiness and continuity in a weakened fleet.

Mr Ballantyne said: “With all the chatter about the need to be on a ‘battle-footing’ continuing to decline, the current government has done nothing but skirt around the fringes of Defence.”

Earlier this week Mr Ballantyne took to

In this conflict, the British relied on a single destroyer and Army Apaches flying from the helicopter carrier HMS Ocean for tactical air control near the coast.

Mr Ballantyne made the shocking decision, telling Express.co.uk: “At the moment the RN cannot even do a Libya-style operation and every government since the late 1990s has been responsible for this.

“But when the coalition cut a third of its defense budget and cut all of its capabilities, some of which have not been replaced for years and years since, that was the beginning of a steep decline.”

His comments come as the shaky two-week ceasefire between the United States, Israel and Iran shows signs of strain. Semi-official Iranian media this week published charts indicating a “danger zone” on the main Traffic Separation Plan for the Strait of Hormuz and suggesting the laying of naval mines by the Revolutionary Guard.

Oil prices rose above $97 a barrel on Thursday, with Brent crude rising 2.9% to $97.46. Ship tracking data showed that only four ships with active AIS signals passed through on the first day of the ceasefire.

President Trump has insisted that US forces will remain in the region until a “REAL DEAL” is fully in place and warned that failure would trigger a force “bigger, better and stronger than anyone has ever seen before”.

Iran claims the deal gives it control of the strait and the right to collect tolls while allowing it to continue enriching uranium; The United States and Israel say the waterway must remain open and safe and that the ceasefire does not cover Israel’s campaign against Hezbollah in Lebanon, where attacks have killed at least 182 people in one day.

The Royal Navy’s difficulties could not have come at a worse time. Since approximately 20 percent of global oil and gas trade has historically passed through the Strait of Hormuz, any renewed disruption would have serious consequences for energy markets and international security. Britain, historically Europe’s foremost naval power, now finds itself struggling to maintain even basic operational tempo on a single destroyer.

Mr Ballantyne highlighted that talent gaps, delayed shipbuilding programs and repeated “talent holidays” under governments of all parties date back more than 25 years.

The 2010 cuts hit the hardest, but the trend of underinvestment continued. Ministers in Starmer’s government have talked about shifting defense to a war footing, but the expert sees little significant change beyond marginal adjustments while core issues remain unresolved.

While the water system failure on HMS Dragon may seem officially minor, it underlines the pressure on the aging surface fleet, which has suffered from availability problems and maintenance difficulties for years. In a region where the U.S. Navy routinely rotates carrier strike groups between ports for resupply, repairs and crew rest, even America’s much larger forces are not immune to tension.

Mr Ballantyne fears that without a sustained commitment between parties to reverse decades of decline, including urgent investment in hull numbers, sustainability and new capabilities, the Royal Navy will continue to operate at the limits of what a shrinking force can deliver. As global tensions increase at critical maritime crossing points, the consequences of inadequate investment in the long term are becoming impossible to ignore.

Mr. Ballantyne explores the moral ambiguity of the post-war period in his debut novel, Martin’s Eyes, from Chiselbury Publishing. Set in 1946 Austria, this historical thriller follows the tense confrontation between a war crimes investigator and a fugitive Nazi who comes to terms with the ghosts of the conflict.