PORTSMOUTH – The Navy warship HMS Dragon is not due to sail to the Middle East until at least Wednesday under current plans, shipping documents seen by The i Paper show.
One military source said that the current listing on the paperwork showed that she would not depart tomorrow, while a dockyard insider said it was highly unlikely that the departure would be brought forward due to preparation scheduling.
It marks a further delay for the Type 45 Destroyer, which is supposed to be heading to the Middle East to bolster the UK’s defences against Iranian attacks. A week after the deployment was announced, she still hasn’t sailed.
It is understood that sailing to Cyprus would take several days, so the warship is unlikely to arrive in the region until at least the weekend.
On Monday, The i Paper watched the Dragon moving into position for a second round of ammunition loading – a dangerous process that takes place over several hours far out in the middle of the harbour, to ensure it is as far from those on the shore as possible, in case of accidents.
This includes loading up the Sea Viper air defence system, which is capable of simultaneously taking out 16 missiles and drones.
The Type 45 Destroyer is loaded at the Upper Harbour Ammunition Facility in Portsmouth. It is not expected to set sail until Wednesday at the earliest (Photo: Tony Kershaw / SWNS)The vessel is on Tuesday due to return from the ammunition port to complete the loading of supplies. Around 200 personnel are expected to travel with the vessel, The i Paper understands, and the unexpected nature of the deployment means many may have needed to return from leave or training.
As the delay grows for the 8,000-tonne Navy warship, waiting in the white fog over Portsmouth harbour, so too does criticism of the UK’s handling of the Iran crisis.
The warship has become an emblem of an overstretched British military – and central to a diplomatic spat between No 10 and the White House.
Despite the UK’s efforts to distance itself from Donald Trump’s attacks, Britain has become increasingly embroiled in the US and Israel’s war with Iran.
In Bahrain, British troops came 200m away from an Iranian airstrike aimed at the US base next door, and in Iraq, soldiers were 400m away from a blast. On Sunday night, a drone hit UK airbase RAF Akrotiri in Cyprus, believed to have been fired by Iranian proxy Hezbollah in Lebanon.
The UK has sent additional fighter jets and helicopters to shoot down incoming drones and missiles. But it has moved slowly in its plans to send a warship – HMS Dragon.
The decision to send the ship wasn’t made until last Tuesday morning – almost two days after the drone hit Akrotiri. Nearly a week later, it is still docked here in Portsmouth.
Of the UK’s six Type 45 Destroyers, the Dragon was “the most ready” officials said – but even she is far from it. The Dragon was undergoing maintenance and earmarked for another mission, so had to finish repairs and pivot towards a Middle East deployment.
Ammunition is loaded on to HMS Dragon on Friday (Photo: Helayna Birkett/UK MOD Crown/Handout via Reuters)The vessel’s notice to sail period – the time it takes to prepare for deployment – was reduced to five days at the weekend.
In the same Portsmouth dockyard, crews are now also preparing the aircraft carrier HMS Prince of Wales, with The i Paper watching supplies being carried on board and the radar system spinning into action. However, no plans have been confirmed for the ship – the Navy’s largest – to deploy.
There are now unconfirmed suggestions in naval circles that it may wait for the Prince of Wales and deploy together, something that would be both safer and strategically beneficial; the Dragon could escort the aircraft carrier and provide air defence, and the pair could train together on their journey to the Middle East.
Lack of UK preparations ‘unforgiveable’
The delays have triggered criticism that the UK was unprepared for the Iran crisis.
Former defence minister Tobias Ellwood said the decision to deploy the ship should have been taken as soon as the first emergency Cobra meeting was held during the first wave of strikes.
Former diplomat Ameer Kotecha said it was “unforgiveable” that the UK was so unprepared for the attacks.
Most scathing of all has been President Trump. He described Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer as “no Churchill” for his initial refusal to allow the US to use British bases to launch attacks, and subsequent delay in allowing it to use bases for limited defensive strikes.
This weekend, Trump again tore a chunk out of the “special relationship”, saying that the UK was “once” the US’s greatest ally but that America did not need “people who joined wars after we have already won them”.
The value of HMS Dragon may diminish with time; Western officials said last week that they assessed Iran to only have “several days” worth of missiles left, and the ship may not arrive before the regime runs out of capabilities to use in attacks.
The UK can’t claim a lack of notice; Trump had made threats against Iran for months before launching strikes with Israel on 28 February, and had moved an “armada” of warships to the region in January.
The British Government has rejected accusations it has been too slow to move, saying it has already increased its defensive capabilities in the region with additional fighter jets and Wildcat helicopters.
But some say the deployment – or failure to deploy – of the Dragon speaks to a far wider issue: that the British military is overstretched and under-resourced.
Crews are preparing the Royal Navy aircraft carrier HMS Prince of Wales at Portsmouth harbour, but plans for its deployment have not been confirmed (Photo: Andrew Matthews/PA Wire)Ship fiasco a symptom of ‘hollowed out’ Armed Forces
Politicians of all stripes have warned that the Armed Forces has been “hollowed out” after protracted funding cuts and a recruitment crisis.
The UK was originally planning to buy 12 Type 45s, rather than six, which would have dramatically increased the number available for deployment, Labour MP Calvin Bailey said last week. He also raised concerns that the number of bays able to service the ships has also been reduced.
Photographs of French ships arriving first to protect the Cyprus base were an embarrassment for the UK, The Times newspaper wrote, undermining its claims to be able to defend its personnel, capabilities and allies.
Military sources said financial constraints were not holding up the ship, dismissing the idea that deployment could have been sped up by paying contractors more to finish the jobs faster.
They defended the decision to reduce contracts for the ship from 24-hour provision to 12-hour provision last year, saying that it was still cheaper to pay overtime when readying the ship for deployment now than fund a more expensive full-time contract.
But privately, they admitted that greater defence funding – and more ships – would have meant they were able to deploy more quickly. If a ship had been out of maintenance, free of other obligations and in port, it might have been able to sail in two or three days.
Some insiders say the Dragon fiasco has laid bare the impact on Armed Forces and hope it may be a call to action on military preparedness.
For now, as it sits in this foggy Portsmouth dockyard, the warship’s only function is as the canary in the coal mine of British defence.
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