UK defence secretary John Healey is considering deploying a Royal Navy destroyer to Cyprus to bolster protection for British bases after several apparently hostile drones targeted RAF Akrotiri.
According to defence sources, the possible deployment of HMS Duncan, currently based in Portsmouth, is under discussion. The Type 45 destroyer specialises in air defence and counter-drone operations and recently conducted exercises off the Welsh coast involving drone swarms. It is unclear how quickly the vessel could sail, though it would take roughly five to seven days to reach Cyprus.
A Shahed-type drone breached Akrotiri's air defences on Monday, causing minor damage when it crash-landed on the runway. Two additional drones were intercepted later the same day. Cypriot sources suggested the drone may have originated from territory in Lebanon controlled by Hezbollah, though the UK Ministry of Defence has not confirmed this.
France has already pledged to send a frigate and anti-drone systems to Cyprus, and Germany is considering a request for support. The United Kingdom currently has no large warships deployed in the eastern Mediterranean, though a minehunter remains stationed in Bahrain...