John Healey, the defence secretary, is considering sending a Royal Navy destroyer to Cyprus to help defend British bases there after several apparently hostile drones targeted RAF Akrotiri on the island.
Defence sources said a deployment of HMS Duncan, currently in Portsmouth, was under discussion as a way to better protect the base in Cyprus – though another said it was possible one of two other destroyers might be sent as an alternative.
HMS Duncan is specialised in counter-drone operations and last month was engaged on a test exercise off the coast of Wales facing swarms of drones, before hosting a family day on Friday. It is not clear how ready it is to set sail.
It would take around five to seven days for the vessel to reach Cyprus from Portsmouth as it travels at around 30 knots (34.5mph). The US has given no indication how long it intends to continue bombing Iran, though on Monday night Donald Trump said the war could last four to five weeks.
John Foreman, a former UK defence attache to Moscow, said it was a surprise that the UK had taken so long to deploy a warship to protect Cyprus and UK bases there, given the highly visible US military buildup 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 one should have been there already,” Foreman said.
France has already agreed to send a frigate and anti-drone systems to Cyprus, according to Cypriot government officials. A request has also been made for support from Germany, which is under consideration.
“This latest pondering appears driven more by news that the French are sending ships to the area. The MoD has consistently been behind the power curve and is now scrambling to catch up. A failure of planning, of intelligence, and of foresight,” he added.
No large Royal Navy warships are in the Middle East or have been deployed to the region so far, even though the conflict is now in its fourth day and British interests have been targeted. A single mine hunter, HMS Middleton, is based in Bahrain.
A Shahed-type drone breached Akrotiri’s air defences on Monday, causing minor damage as it crash-landed on the runway, even though counter-drone units were deployed on site. Two other incoming drones were intercepted later that day.
Cypriot sources said the drone that hit the runway is believed to have been flown from territory in Lebanon controlled by Hezbollah, a pro-Iranian proxy group though this has not yet been confirmed by the Ministry of Defence.
Cypriots living near Akrotiri were advised to shelter in place in the aftermath of the first incident – and families of UK service personnel are being relocated off the base as a security precaution.
Images circulating on social media appeared to show that the drone that hit the runway had a Russian-made antenna but this has also not been confirmed.
Disclaimer : This story is auto aggregated by a computer programme and has not been created or edited by DOWNTHENEWS. Publisher: theguardian.com
