UK warship HMS Dragon departs for Cyprus amid Middle East crisis
The government announced that the British warship HMS Dragon left the naval base in Portsmouth to go to the Eastern Mediterranean to protect Cyprus.
The ship left Portsmouth Harbor shortly after 4pm on Tuesday, a week after it was announced it would be deployed.
The Type 45 destroyer is capable of shooting down drones and ballistic missiles such as those fired by Iran and its proxies, and was deployed as the conflict in the Middle East reached its eleventh day on Tuesday.
The crew was seen lining up on deck as the ship left Portsmouth Harbour.
Officials emphasized that the ship was prepared as quickly as possible by compressing six weeks of work into six days.
The deployment announcement comes in response to a drone attack on RAF Akrotiri base in Cyprus on 1 March.
The attack forced the United Kingdom, which had previously vowed not to get involved, to reconsider its approach to America and Israel’s war with Iran.
In a TV speech recorded earlier the same evening, Sir Keir Starmer said he had agreed to a US request to use British military bases for “defensive” strikes on Iranian missile sites, adding that “British lives” were being put at risk. On Tuesday, the government decided to send the warship HMS Dragon to the Eastern Mediterranean.
Under the 1960 Treaty of Guarantee, which gave independence to Cyprus, the United Kingdom has a legal obligation to ensure the security of the island. However, the Cypriot government said it was “disappointed” with Britain’s response to the strike and appealed for help from France.
HMS Dragon is one of the Royal Navy’s six Type 45 Destroyers, which form the fleet’s first line of defense against aerial threats such as aircraft, missiles and drones.
Normally based in Portsmouth and with a crew of around 200 sailors, it has the capacity to protect an area five times the size of Cyprus. The Ministry of Defense (MoD) says it can also track hundreds of targets simultaneously.
The Sea Viper missile system can launch eight missiles in under 10 seconds and simultaneously fire 16 missiles at four times the speed of sound and direct them to their targets. Last year HMS Dragon became the first British warship to destroy a missile traveling at supersonic speed during an international exercise off the coast of Scotland.
If the Middle East crisis continues, a second British ship may be sent to the Eastern Mediterranean.
According to the Department of Defense, the RFA Lyme Bay landing ship is being prepared for a potential deployment to the region.
The ship has aviation and medical facilities that can assist in any evacuation efforts.
A Ministry of Defense spokesman said: “As part of prudent planning, we have taken the decision to place RFA Lyme Bay on a high level of readiness as a precautionary measure should it be required to assist with maritime missions in the Eastern Mediterranean.”
Meanwhile, markets calmed after US President Donald Trump said military action would be a “short-term excursion” rather than a longer war and threatened “death, fire and fury” against Iran if ships were not allowed to pass through the Strait of Hormuz, a vital maritime oil and gas route.
But concerns remained that energy prices could rise, and Britain’s budget watchdog warned inflation this year could be higher than previously predicted.
Professor David Miles, a member of the Office for Budget Responsibility’s budget responsibility committee, told MPs on Tuesday: “We currently think that if prices do not change from where they are – market expectations for both spot prices and futures prices, which is particularly important for the Ofgem price cap – the inflation rate will finish the year closer to three per cent, not closer to two per cent.”
