UK to deploy advanced warship and counter-drone helicopters to Cyprus

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Britain is sending advanced warship HMS Dragon and helicopters with counter-drone capabilities to Cyprus following an attack on a UK military base on the island, Sir Keir Starmer has announced.

HMS Dragon, a Type 45 destroyer, is equipped with sophisticated air defence systems to combat drones and missiles. It is expected to take about a week to reach the region, according to officials.

The UK prime minister announced the plan on X on Tuesday, writing: “The UK is fully committed to the security of Cyprus and British military personnel based there.”

Starmer confirmed that he had spoken earlier in the day with Cypriot President Nikos Christodoulides after Cyprus had expressed unhappiness about the UK failing to clarify initially that RAF Akrotiri would not be used in strikes by the US against Iran.

A drone hit the runway at the British military base on the southern coast of Cyprus, in the eastern Mediterranean Sea, on Sunday night.

British and Cypriot officials told the FT they suspected that the small Shahed-style drone had been launched by Hizbollah in Lebanon rather than by Iran, but the UK’s Ministry of Defence has not officially confirmed its assessment.

Families have since been moved off the site as a precaution, UK foreign secretary Yvette Cooper said on Monday.

Starmer said the drone was believed to have been launched before he announced on Sunday that the UK had given its approval for the US to use British military bases to launch strikes against Iranian missile depots and launchers. The drone struck shortly after his statement.

Cyprus has expressed strong dissatisfaction with the UK government over the absence of a clear assurance that the British sovereign base areas would be used strictly for humanitarian purposes.

Following the attack on Monday, Cypriot government spokesperson Constantinos Letymbiotis said: “It is something that I must say we view with dissatisfaction,” referring to the lack of explicit clarification that the bases “would under no circumstances be used for any reason other than humanitarian purposes”.

He added: “In this context, we are not ruling anything out,” signalling heightened concern in Nicosia as regional tensions escalate.

Starmer sought to clarify the position in the House of Commons on Monday, telling MPs: “It is important for me to say that our bases in Cyprus are not being used by US bombers. The security of our friends and partners in Cyprus is of critical importance, and I want to be clear: the strike on RAF Akrotiri in Cyprus was not in response to any decision that we have taken.”

The area around Akrotiri has been evacuated since Monday and will remain evacuated until Friday, when the security situation will be re-evaluated by the island’s authorities.

On Tuesday, the MoD confirmed it would send the Type 45 destroyer HMS Duncan, which is fitted with the Sea Viper missile system that can launch eight missiles in under 10 seconds and guide up to 16 missiles simultaneously.

Britain is also sending Wildcat helicopters with “drone-busting” Martlet missiles.

The deployment comes after RAF F-35B jets shot down Shahed drones above Jordan overnight. It is the first time these jets have destroyed a target on operations.

UK forces have also neutralised drones in Iraqi airspace that were heading for coalition forces, while an RAF Typhoon shot down an Iranian one-way attack drone directed at Qatar using an air-to-air missile on Monday.

But the UK government has faced criticism for not strengthening its defences in Cyprus sooner. Officials initially suggested on Tuesday that HMS Duncan, a different Type 45 destroyer, might be deployed before Starmer confirmed that HMS Dragon would sail to the region.

Conservative shadow defence secretary James Cartlidge welcomed the prospect of a Type 45 destroyer being sent to the region, but added on X: “It begs the question: why wasn’t she already there?”

Tory MP Ben Obese-Jecty, a former British Army officer, said that the US military build-up in the region had taken place over weeks and it was highly predictable that Cyprus, because of its location, could become a target.

If the drone that hit RAF Akrotiri was launched by Hizbollah, Obese-Jecty said there was another question about why the UK had not responded with force against a proscribed terrorist group attacking sovereign UK territory.

The UK has already moved several military assets to its two bases on Cyprus in recent weeks as tensions escalated between the US and Iran in the lead-up to the initial American and Israeli strikes.

At present, Britain has F-35 and Typhoon fighter jets, counter-drone capabilities, ground-based air defence systems and radars situated on the island.

Greece on Monday sent two frigates and two fighter jets to help protect Cyprus. Greek defence minister Nikos Dendias said Athens was ready to defend its ally with “any possible means”.

On Tuesday, Letymbiotis, the Cypriot government spokesperson, confirmed that France planned to send a frigate equipped with anti-missile and anti-drone systems to the island.