The Royal Navy is sending HMS Dragon to the Middle East, pre-positioning the Type 45 destroyer ahead of a possible role in a future defensive mission to protect shipping in the Strait of Hormuz. The Ministry of Defence said the deployment was strictly defensive and independent.
The move comes as Sir Keir Starmer and Emmanuel Macron champion a plan to guard the waterway, through which about 20% of the world’s oil and liquefied natural gas passes. Starmer said the shipping mission would only take place once fighting in the region ends.
The announcement was made on Saturday, after a week in which both the US and Iran accused each other of launching attacks in the strait. Iran has been controlling the Strait of Hormuz for months in retaliation for US and Israeli attacks, even though a ceasefire has been in place between Washington and Tehran since April.
HMS Dragon is one of the Royal Navy’s six Type 45 destroyers and is built for anti-aircraft and anti-missile warfare. It had recently been in the eastern Mediterranean as part of the UK’s defensive operations there, with its main job protecting British air bases in Cyprus after RAF Akrotiri was hit by an Iranian-made drone in March.
That earlier deployment was not without problems. After arriving at Cyprus, the warship had to be docked shortly afterward because of a minor technical issue, though the Ministry of Defence said Cyprus remains well defended and that the UK has bolstered the significant defensive capabilities already pre-deployed to the region since January.
The ministry said the new Middle East mission was part of prudent planning and could contribute immediately if needed as part of a future defensive mission. It said the deployment gives the armed forces additional options for the defensive multinational Hormuz mission.
The plan has been building for weeks. Last month, 51 countries met to discuss how to protect commercial shipping in the Strait of Hormuz, and Starmer later said dozens of countries had offered to contribute assets to the joint operation with France. He has also said the UK will not be dragged into the conflict and would not support a US blockade of Iranian ports.
For now, HMS Dragon is being moved into place rather than sent straight into action. That reflects the government’s effort to keep a military presence near one of the world’s most important shipping lanes without crossing the line into open combat.
