FIVE of Britain’s six £1billion destroyers were in port being repaired while the RAF base in Cyprus came under attack.
Only one of the Royal Navy’s top air defence ships was fully operational at the start of the Iran crisis – with experts warning Britain isn’t ready for war.
Out of the six Type 45 Destroyers, only HMS Duncan was ready to go at the start of the Iran crisis, The Sun understands.
HMS Diamond and HMS Defender are all currently undergoing long-term maintenance while HMS Daring has been out of action completely for an astonishing nine years.
Meanwhile, HMS Dragon was also undergoing repairs – along with HMS Dauntless – but officially both were considered operational along with HMS Duncan.
But Dragon is now being rushed back and quickly equipped with missiles before setting sail to Cyprus next week following the Iranian drone attack on RAF Akrotiri.
Dragon will then take another seven days to reach her destination – with Duncan set to go on a pre-planned deployment in the Arctic as part of Operation Firecrest.
The warship was spotted at HM Naval Base Portsmouth today being resupplied with air defence missiles after she was de-armed so crews could finish welding, a source confirmed.
Former Royal Navy Commander, Rear Admiral Parry, who served in Northern Ireland, the Gulf and the Falklands, told The Sun the situation was a farce.
He blasted the government as “dreadful” and “strategically illiterate” after failing to anticipate conflict in the region.
“There’s nothing out there, there’s nothing in the Mediterranean for the first time in ages. We’ve withdrawn everything from the Gulf for the first time in 50 years,” he said.
“The Government is absolutely strategically illiterate. The prime duty of the government is to defend this country and its interests and to deter aggression – it has absolutely failed in that number one responsibility.”
“It took us three days to get a task force together in 1982 with two carriers to go down to the South Atlantic. Maintenance took us three days.
“And we can’t even get a single bloody warship out inside ten days.”
“It’s like having a bow and a quiver full of arrows and thinking, you know what. I won’t use them.”
While former head of the Royal Navy, Admiral Lord West told The Sun the Navy “hadn’t been kept up to speed” and had been “sitting for too long”.
He said: “There’s not a single British warship between Gibraltar and Singapore. That is pretty blood bad isn’t it?”
“We ought to send two [destroyers] minimum because when you’re in war, things get hit. That’s what happens.
“Or something goes wrong. We are pussyfooting. We need to bloody well get our act going.
“Our navy has been run down because of successive cuts from governments. The coalition cut the British military by a third. I think the country don’t realise the damage done to the military.”
He also urged the government to release the Defence Investment Plan but also stressed the need for maintaining what Britain already has.
“You’ve got to actually maintain the stuff you’ve got because we might have to fight tomorrow. Dragon might be fighting in a week’s time.
“This is what we all forgot. They say you’ll have all sorts of ships by 2035 – we might all be dead by 2035.
“Iranians consider us as part of the problem. We have to realise we are effectively at war with them.
“They see us as an enemy, they will fight us where they can. We’ve got to be willing to do exactly the same back.”
A member of the Royal Navy’s Daring class, HMS Dragon is 500ft in length, weighing 8,500 tons and cost £1 billion to build – it is manned by nearly 200 crew members.
They are purpose built for anti-aircraft and anti-missile warfare.
As with all Type-45 destroyers, the HMS Dragon features the fearsome Sea Viper systems which can destroy multiple targets at once within a range of up to 70 miles.
They are also equipped with the “all-seeing” SAMPSON radar system as well as a range of deadly weaponry including the 4.5-inch Mark 8 naval gun.
Former Secretary of State for Defence, Penny Mordaunt, also slammed the Government and told The Sun: “Buck up Prime Minister, cough up Chancellor and wake up Government.
“Unless we can secure our national interests, our data, energy and physical security we cannot succeed. All else is secondary.
There is no point having defence capabilities if you have not also allowed enough budget and spare parts to ensure their readiness.
“It is a scandal that so many ships are not at sea, that assets were not made ready and dispatched to the Mediterranean weeks ago and that the National Security Council has not been discussing the situation.”
While an MOD spokesperson said: “We are reinforcing our defensive presence in the Eastern Mediterranean. Royal Navy Wildcat helicopters armed with Martlet drone-busting missiles are deploying within days.
“They will reinforce our RAF Typhoons, F-35B jets, ground-based counter-drone teams, radar systems, and Voyager refuelling aircraft already deployed.
“Our jets are now flying continuous sorties to defend against indiscriminate Iranian strikes threatening UK people, interests, and bases.
“The Royal Navy are working as fast as possible to prepare HMS Dragon for deployment, including resupplying her air defence missiles at our ammunition facility in HMNB in Portsmouth.”
