John Healey, the defense secretary, is considering sending a Royal Navy destroyer to Cyprus to help defend British bases there after several apparently hostile drones attacked RAF Akrotiri on the island.
Defense sources said the deployment of HMS Duncan, currently in Portsmouth, was being discussed as a way to better protect the base in Cyprus, although another said it was possible one of the other two destroyers could be sent as an alternative.
HMS Duncan specializes in counter-drone operations and last month took part in a test exercise off the coast of Wales taking on swarms of drones, before hosting a family day out on Friday. It is unclear how ready it is to set sail.
It would take between five and seven days for the ship to reach Cyprus from Portsmouth as it travels at about 30 knots (34.5 mph). The United States has given no indication of how long it plans to continue bombing Iran, although on Monday night Donald Trump said the war could last four to five weeks.
John Foreman, a former UK defense attaché in Moscow, said it was a surprise that it had taken so long for the UK to deploy a warship to protect Cyprus and its bases there, given the highly visible US military build-up ahead of its joint attack on Iran on Saturday.
“That the UK is now ‘considering’ sending a destroyer to the eastern Mediterranean is a clear indication that one should have already been there,” Foreman said.
France has already agreed to send a frigate and anti-drone systems to Cyprus, according to Cypriot government officials. A request for support has also been submitted to Germany, which is being examined.
“This latest reflection seems driven more by the news that the French are sending ships to the area. The Ministry of Defense has been constantly behind the power curve and is now struggling to catch up. A failure of planning, intelligence and foresight,” he added.
So far there are no major Royal Navy warships in the Middle East nor have they been deployed to the region, even though the conflict is now in its fourth day and British interests have been attacked. A single minehunter, HMS Middleton, is based in Bahrain.
A Shahed-type drone breached Akrotiri’s air defenses on Monday, causing minor damage when it crashed on the runway, despite counter-drone units being deployed to the scene. Two other incoming drones were intercepted that same day.
Cypriot sources said the drone that hit the runway is believed to have come from territory in Lebanon controlled by Hezbollah, a pro-Iran proxy group, although this has not yet been confirmed by the Ministry of Defence.
Cypriots living near Akrotiri were advised to shelter in place after the first incident, and families of UK service personnel are being relocated off base as a safety precaution.
Images circulating on social media appear to show that the drone that hit the runway had a Russian-made antenna, but this has also not been confirmed.
