The 1 key thing HMS Dragon might have to do before finally arriving in Cyprus
EXCLUSIVE: A former Navy commander has revealed what steps the £1 billion warship may have to take before arriving in the Eastern Mediterranean.
HMS Dragon could have to stop to test her weapon systems near Greece before arriving in waters around Cyprus, a former commander has said. The Type 45 destroyer set sail from Portsmouth naval base on Tuesday afternoon — a week after her deployment to the Eastern Mediterranean was announced, in response to a drone strike on an RAF base in Cyprus.
The stop-off at a weapons firing range off the coast of Crete would likely only further delay the £1 billion warship’s arrival in the region. Tom Sharpe, who commanded four warships during a 27-year career in the Royal Navy, said this would allow HMS Dragon’s sensors to be “put through their paces”. He told the Express: “You would definitely want to do that before going into a high-threat environment or any threat environment.
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“It basically makes sure that all your weapon systems and sensors are all aligned and talking to each other properly. That’s quite hard to do in the UK.
“So they might not even go straight there. There’s still plenty of things they need to do.”
Mr Sharpe also said the ship could pull into Gibraltar to take on extra fuel and supplies.
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He added that the speed HMS Dragon travels at will likely depends on the Bay of Biscay.
“Twelve knots (13.8 miles per hour) is a sensible planning speed at this time of year,” Mr Sharpe said.
“That means you can go on your diesel generator so you don’t burn through tonnes of fuel and it means you get there in one piece, but they will probably be trying to go faster than that.”
Sir Keir Starmer has faced criticism over the UK’s readiness to react to the escalating tensions in the Middle East.
The slower-than-expected deployment of HMS Dragon has been widely viewed as a reflection of the state of the Armed Forces following years of cuts by successive governments.
HMS Dragon, an air defence specialist capable of taking out ballistic missiles, will help protect British bases and personnel stationed on Cyprus following the drone incident at RAF Akrotiri.
The warship’s journey from the UK to the Eastern Med is expected to take between five and seven days.
