Keir Starmer needs to wake up - even his biggest fans know he's made one huge Iran mistake

Sir Keir Starmer has found himself somewhere between a rock and a hard place over the war in the Middle East, but there’s one thing he undoubtedly got wrong. It feels like the Prime Minister has been in a lose-lose situation, damned if you do, damned if you don’t scenario regarding this conflict and many political opponents have looked to capitalise.

Whether you believe the UK should have joined the US-Israeli attacks on Iran or undermined our ‘special relationship’ with Washington is a debate for another day. However, questions are rightly being asked over our readiness to protect RAF Akrotiri in Cyprus and what this says about the state of our Armed Forces. The key airbase was struck by a Shahed-type drone, which Cypriot officials believe is likely to have come from Iranian-backed Hezbollah forces in Lebanon.

Additional air defences, radar systems and jets had already been deployed to the base weeks earlier, but it’s the decision not to send a Type 45 destroyer which is looking a mistake.

The £1billion apiece Royal Navy warships deploy among the world’s most advanced air defence systems.

They’ve already proven themselves in similar theatres, with HMS Diamond previously downing drones and a ballistic missile fired from Iranian-backed Houthis in Yemen.

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Two days after the drone incident at RAF Akrotiri – there were no casualties and “minimal” damage to a hangar used by US U2 spyplanes – it was announced HMS Dragon would be deployed.

However, the ship is not expected to set sail until this coming week and the journey to the Eastern Mediterranean alone could take up to seven days, meaning she may not arrive until mid-March.

This, many will argue, is simply not good enough and is a direct consequence of years of underfunding in our forces. To make matters worse, it appears many of our allies were far better prepared.

France, Italy, Greece and even Spain – which has refused to reach NATO’s new 5% of GDP spending target – are rushing warships to help bolster Cyprus’ defences. All ships will almost certainly arrive before Dragon.

It’s simply not a good look and questions must be asked of our readiness. This is yet more evidence of the need to rapidly invest greater money into defence.

Expensive missiles vs cheap drones

Despite the fiasco over HMS Dragon, we must commend the RAF pilots who’ve been flying defensive missions in the region and shot down several drones fired by Iran.

However, this has only further exposed the new reality of warfare and the economic headache it can bring.

In their first operational kill, British F-35Bs used advanced short-range air-to-air missiles (ASRAAM) worth around £200,000 a pop to wipe out kamikaze Shahed drones costing just £26,000. While this was effective, it is not cost-efficient and has been described by one expert as akin to “firing golden bullets at plastic targets”.

Like Russia has in Ukraine, Iran has fired the low-flying Shaheds in waves and using air-to-air expensive missiles to destroy them – some reportedly costing up to £2 million each – is a quick way to burn both a hole in your pocket and stockpiles when they could be used for greater targets.

Ukraine has become the master at using cheaper methods to destroy these threats.

The good news is the UK is also working on this. The UK and Ukraine have teamed up to mass-produce interceptor drones, while four Royal Navy warships are set to get the £10-a-shot DragonFire laser weapon from 2027.

Threats at home remain

While much of the world’s attention is fixated on the Middle East, it’s important to remember threats continue at home.

The Navy has shadowed two sanctioned Russian cargo ships and their escorted warships in UK waters.

River Class HMS Tyne and a Wildcat helicopter tracked the Russian navy’s Ropucha-class landing ship Aleksandr Otrakovsky and merchant vessel Sparta IV as they sailed through the Atlantic, English Channel and into the North Sea.

Just 48 hours after this was completed, HMS Tyne and a Wildcat were again called into action again.

This time they monitored the Ropucha-class warship Aleksandr Shabalin and cargo vessel MV Sabetta as they sailed westward through the English Channel.

The Ministry of Defence (MoD) recently reported a 30% increase in Russian vessels threatening UK waters in the past two years.

These latest incidents are an important reminder of the work our dedicated Navy personnel carry out on a regular basis.