UK poised to send warship HMS Dragon to Cyprus after drone attacks on RAF base

The UK will send helicopters with counter-drone capabilities and air defence destroyer HMS Dragon to protect British military personnel in Cyprus.

Sir Keir Starmer confirmed the UK would be sending HMS Dragon, one of the Royal Navy’s six Type 45 air defence destroyers, after RAF Akrotiri on Cyprus was hit by a drone.

Sir Keir said: “The UK is fully committed to the security of Cyprus and British military personnel based there.

“We’re continuing our defensive operations and I’ve just spoken with the president of Cyprus to let him know that we are sending helicopters with counter-drone capabilities and HMS Dragon is to be deployed to the region.

“We will always act in the interest of the UK and our allies.”

Read more: Another attack on Cyprus RAF air base as two drones intercepted - and troops and families ordered to run for cover

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The UK currently has no ability to defend Cyprus against ballistic missile attacks and there are fears the island could be vulnerable from further Iranian attacks.

France is sending two frigates to supplement forces already in the region and the Charles de Gaulle aircraft carrier strike group, which has been ordered to deploy to the area from the Baltic Sea.

French President Emmanuel Macron and Cypriot President Nikos Christodoulides had a phone call "in the context of strengthening the precautionary measures being taken," according to Cypriot government spokesman Konstantinos Letymbiotis.

Downing Street said the UK has sent a "significant level of defensive capability" to RAF Akrotiri amid the reports that France plans to take its own action.

Asked if the prospect of France is sending warships to the region to defend the UK's base was embarrassing, the Prime Minister’s official spokesman said: "I'm obviously not going to comment on other countries.

"I think we’ve set out multiple times the assets, the capabilities that we’ve deployed defensively to the region and that includes radar systems, air defence and F-35 jets.

"That is a significant level of defensive capability to our bases in Cyprus."

HMS Duncan recently finished a four-day live training exercise off the Welsh coast in which it defended itself against multiple drone attacks and simulated threats.

The training took place at MOD Aberporth and tested the ship’s full offensive and defensive capabilities in both daylight and nighttime condition.

HMS Duncan, which weighs 7,500 tonnes, is an air defence destroyer and one of the most advanced warships on the globe.

It can travel at speeds of up to 30knots and has an operational range of 7,000 nautical miles and is purpose-built for anti-aircraft and anti-missile warfare.

A Whitehall source told The Times it was "very likely" that HMS Duncan would go, and would could take about a week for it to reach Cyprus from UK water.

The Royal Navy currently has six Type 45 destroyers, three of which are in deep maintenance. HMS Dauntless and HMS Dragon are alongside in the UK but are at three days notice to move. HMS Duncan is at high readiness to move and would most quickly reach Cyprus.

It is armed with the Navy's Sea Viper missile system which can protect both land and sea forces from aircraft, missile and drone attacks.

The Sea Viper can launch eight missiles in under ten seconds and guide up to 16 missiles simultaneously.

RAF personnel and their families at the Akrotiri air base were ordered to return to their homes and take cover over a new security threat on Monday.

Personnel were instructed to "return to their homes and stay inside until further notice," and were told to move away from windows and take cover behind or beneath substantial, solid furniture".

Three British schools on the island were closed with immediate effect, two of which are on RAF Akrotiri and a third on the separate Dhekelia Garrison on the east of the island.

Paphos International Airport was also evacuated after an unidentified drone was detected within the facility’s restricted airspace.

Greece has also said it will send two frigates and fighter jets to defend Cyprus, meaning it will have more naval assets in the area than the UK.

Posting on X, National Security & Geopolitical Advisory, Henry Bolton, criticised the Government for taking too long in taking action.

He wrote: "Had our government had its wits about it, we'd have parked two Type 45 destroyers off Cyprus as goalkeepers.

"HMS Duncan should have already sailed. HMS Dauntless must be made ready to sail and leave in 72 hours. Why has this not happened? Once again, weak and indecisive leadership. That's why".

He added: "Starmer is like a deer in the headlights. Let me help: If Duncan can sail - which she can - she needs to be bombed up and at sea yesterday, and making best speed to the Eastern Med.

"[HMS] Dauntless (presently in maintenance at Portsmouth) needs to be ordered to make immediate preparations and to sail for the Med as soon as possible.

"That’s all the consideration needed! The rest can be worked out when the ships are on their way."

Speaking to LBC's Nick Ferrari at Breakfast on Tuesday, Chief Secretary to the Prime Minister Darren Jones said the Government wanted to avoid ending up in a Middle East war after "learning the lessons" from the conflict in Iraq.

Mr Jones told Nick: "The most important endgame right now is that we stop Iran from firing missiles around indiscriminately in the region so that we can open airspace and get British citizens home as quickly as possible.

"Our Prime Minister cannot dictate what Iran does in the Middle East."

He added: "I think the public are with the Government on that. We've learned the lessons from Iraq.

"We don't want to go back into war in the Middle East where there is no clear plan and no legal basis to do so and I think your listeners, when they call in, might, I would be pretty confident, agree with me on that."

Shadow Defence Secretary, James Cartlidge, posted on X: "HMS Duncan must go & go now - we need the highly capable air defence it provides to protect RAF Akrotiri. It begs the question: why wasn’t she already there?"

The comment come hours after Donald Trump accused the Prime Minister of dithering over the Iran war, and claimed he was "not being helpful".

In his latest outburst, the President said: "[Sir Keir] has not been helpful. I never thought I’d see that. I never thought I’d see that from the UK.

"We love the UK. It’s a different world, actually. It’s just a much different kind of relationship that we’ve had with your country before".

Mr Trump said on Monday that the operation was "substantially ahead of schedule" and would take four to five weeks, but added: "We have capability to go far longer than that."

Britain's first evacuation flight from the United Arab Emirates arrived at Heathrow Airport on Monday following the conflict.

On Tuesday, Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper said 130,000 British nationals have registered their presence in the Middle East.

The flight from Abu Dhabi carrying stranded UK nationals landed at London’s Heathrow airport on Monday evening.

Etihad Airways flight EY067 arrived at Terminal 4 of the west London airport, after a delayed departure from the UAE’s capital.

The first flight to arrive from the UAE since the onset of the Iran war landed at 7.16pm, packed with relieved Brits.

Ms Cooper has also told MPs that a Government charter flight is being arranged to evacuate British nationals from Muscat, Oman "in the coming days".