UK warship HMS Dragon has left its naval base in Portsmouth for the eastern Mediterranean to protect Cyprus, the government has announced.
The vessel left Portsmouth Harbour soon after 4pm on Tuesday, a week after its deployment was announced.
The Type 45 destroyer is capable of shooting down drones and ballistic missiles – like those being fired by Iran and its proxies – and has been deployed as the Middle East conflict reached its eleventh day on Tuesday.
Crew were seen lining the deck as the ship moved out of Portsmouth Harbour.
Officials insisted the ship had been prepared as quickly as possible, with six weeks’ worth of work squeezed into six days.
HMS Dragon left its naval base in Portsmouth on Tuesday for the eastern Mediterranean to protect Cyprus (AFP/Getty)
The deployment announcement came in response to a drone attack which hit the RAF Akrotiri base in Cyprus on the 1 March.
The strike forced the UK to reconsider its approach to America and Israel’s war with Iran, having previously vowed not to get involved.
In a recorded TV address earlier that 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 “British lives” had been put at risk. By Tuesday, the government decided it would scramble a warship, HMS Dragon, to the eastern Mediterranean.
Under the 1960 Treaty of Guarantee, which handed independence to Cyprus, the UK has a legal obligation to ensure the island’s security. But the Cypriot government has said it was “disappointed” in Britain’s response to the strike and has drafted in help from France.
Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has acknowledged the war is likely to cause economic damage in the UK (PA)
The HMS Dragon is one of the Royal Navy’s six Type 45 Destroyers, which make up the fleet’s first line of defence against aerial threats such as aircraft, missiles and drones.
Normally based in Portsmouth, with a crew of around 200 sailors, it’s capable of protecting an area up to five times the size of Cyprus. It can also track hundreds of targets simultaneously, the Ministry of Defence (MoD) says.
Its Sea Viper missile system can launch eight missiles in under 10 seconds, and can direct up to 16 missiles onto their targets simultaneously, firing at four times the speed of sound. Last year, HMS Dragon became the first British warship to destroy a missile travelling at supersonic speed during an international exercise off Scotland.
A second British ship could also be sent to the eastern Mediterranean if the Middle East crisis continues.
Landing ship RFA Lyme Bay is being prepared for a potential deployment to the region, according to the MoD.
A British Airbus A400M military aircraft approaches RAF Akrotiri (Reuters)
The vessel has aviation and medical facilities allowing it to assist in any evacuation effort.
A MoD spokesman said: “As part of prudent planning, we have taken the decision to bring RFA Lyme Bay to heightened readiness as a precaution, should she be needed to assist in maritime tasks in the eastern Mediterranean.”
Meanwhile, markets calmed after US president Donald Trump suggested military action would be a “short-term excursion” rather than a more prolonged war and threatened “death, fire and fury” against Iran unless vessels were allowed through the Strait of Hormuz, a vital maritime oil and gas route.
However, there was still a concern that energy prices could increase and the UK’s budget watchdog warned inflation this year could be higher than it previously estimated.
Professor David Miles, a member of the Office for Budget Responsibility budget responsibility committee, told MPs on Tuesday: “Right now, if prices don’t change from where they are – both the spot prices and market expectations for futures prices, which is particularly important for the Ofgem price cap – we think the inflation rate would end the year not near two per cent, but nearer three per cent.”