UK, France send warships, air defence assets to Cyprus after drone attack
Al Jazeera
The development comes after an Iranian-made drone crashed into the UK’s military base in Cyprus.
The United Kingdom is deploying a warship and helicopters to Cyprus, the British government has said, as global concern continues to mount over the fallout from deadly US-Israel attacks on Iran and retaliatory Iranian strikes across the region.
The UK’s Ministry of Defence said on Tuesday that it was sending the HMS Dragon to the eastern Mediterranean along with two Wildcat helicopters “to bolster drone defence for our Cypriot partners”.
One of the Royal Navy’s six Type-45 air defence destroyers, the HMS Dragon is fitted with a Sea Viper missile system able to launch eight missiles in under 10 seconds and guide up to 16 missiles simultaneously, the ministry said in a statement.
In a social media post announcing the deployment, UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer said the country was “fully committed to the security of Cyprus and British military personnel based there”.
“We will always act in the interest of the UK and our allies,” he wrote on X.
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