Britain deploys HMS Dragon and counter-drone helicopters to Cyprus following an Iranian-made drone attack on a UK base, reinforcing regional defence.
LONDON: British Prime Minister Keir Starmer announced the deployment of a warship and specialised helicopters to Cyprus following a drone strike on a UK base.
The move comes after Britain’s Royal Air Force Akrotiri base was struck by an Iranian-made drone early Monday, with two others intercepted.
“The UK is fully committed to the security of Cyprus and British military personnel based there,” Starmer stated on social media platform X.
He confirmed the dispatch of “helicopters with counter drone capabilities” and the air defence destroyer HMS Dragon to the region.
The Ministry of Defence specified that HMS Dragon is a Type 45 destroyer fitted with the Sea Viper missile system.
This system can launch eight missiles in under 10 seconds and guide up to 16 simultaneously.
The accompanying Wildcat helicopters are equipped with Martlet missiles designed to destroy drones.
British forces have helped intercept multiple drones over Jordan and Qatar in the past 24 hours, according to the defence ministry.
Starmer initially resisted involvement in the US-Israeli conflict with Iran but later approved US use of two UK bases for limited defensive operations.
Those bases are in Gloucestershire, England, and the UK-US facility on Diego Garcia in the Indian Ocean.
The Prime Minister has insisted the Akrotiri base is not being used by US bomber aircraft.
Monday’s drone attack caused minimal damage and no casualties at the Cyprus base.
