ARMED to the the teeth with missiles, machine guns & helicopters – HMS Dragon has finally set sail for the Middle East.
The £1billion warship will serve as the will serve as the first line of defence against aerial threats to Cyprus after an Iranian drone attack.
Families gathered at the dockside as the Type 45 Destroyer left Portsmouth for RAF Akrotiri which was struck last week.
But her sailing came a week after Sir Keir Starmer ordered her to sea – and ten days after the strike on the Cypriot base.
The distinctive vessel, emblazoned with the Welsh dragon on each side of its hull, may take a further seven days to reach its destination.
The sluggish response has seen the ship engulfed in a row over Britain’s readiness to respond to a crisis – and the seemingly small size of the Royal Navy.
Dragon’s commanding officer, Commander Iain Giffin, said on Tuesday: “We are trained for this, we are ready for this.
“We have the equipment and people, we have the support of the British people and, most importantly, our families and friends.”
HMS Dragon is thought to be one of the most advanced warships in the world and is now set to enter the theatre in the Middle East.
A member of the Royal Navy’s Daring class, it measures 500ft in length, weighing 8,500 tons and cost £1 billion to build.
It is manned by nearly 200 crew members who were seen lining the decks yesterday as they departed Portsmouth Harbour.
It is one of six Type-45 air defence destroyers, purpose built for anti-aircraft and anti-missile warfare.
It can monitor a vast area of airspace and will prove more than a match for the medium-range ballistic missile and attack drones deployed by the Iranian regime and its proxies.
As with all Type 45 Destroyers, HMS Dragon features the formidable Sea Viper systems which can shoot missiles, drones and fighter jets from the skies within a 70-mile range.
It is described it as the principal weapon of the Daring class and can fire off eight missiles in under ten seconds and guide up to 16 missiles simultaneously.
The Royal Navy say the missiles can close in for the kill “at up to four times the speed of sound, manoeuvring at G-Forces no human can endure”.
It’s capabilities were on full display in the Red Sea when HMS Diamond struck down drones and missiles launched at passing shipping by Houthi rebels in 2024.
Instantly recognisable by the red Welsh Dragon on each side of its bow, Dragon even starred on the big screen in Bond film No Time to Die.
But it can also be identified by its distinctive SAMPSON radar system, a crucial component in guiding the vessel’s Sea Viper missiles.
Described as the “all seeing eye”, the multi-functional radar can also detect and track threats from over 250 miles away and is immune to enemy jamming.
UP SHIP CREEK
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, 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.
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.”
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”.
“We ought to send two [destroyers] minimum because when you’re in war, things get hit,” he said.
“That’s what happens. Or something goes wrong. We are pussyfooting. We need to bloody well get our act going.”
He continued: “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.”
HMS Dragon is also brimmed to the teeth with range of deadly weaponry including the 4.5-inch Mark 8 naval gun.
It is one of the most powerful weapons in the Royal Navy’s arsenal, capable of firing 25 rounds per minute.
Supporting the Mark 8 are two 30mm DSM Mark 2 guns, two 20mm Phalanx CIWS guns, two 7.62mm miniguns and six general purpose machine guns.
The Destroyer is also set to be equipped with two formidable Wildcat helicopters.
The versatile aircraft house a range of weaponry and can be equipped with Sting Ray torpedoes, a 12.7mm calibre cabin-mounted machine gun as well as Martlet and Sea Venom missiles.
It will therefore have more than enough capability to help intercept and shoot down any incoming drones.
But the Prime Minister has been blasted for his response to the Middle East crisis with experts slamming the government as “dreadful” and “strategically illiterate” after failing to anticipate conflict in the region.
The Navy used to have four ships permanently based in the Gulf but did not have a single vessel east of Gibraltar when war broke out.
Dragon’s deployment was hampered by delays as it was rushed back from maintenance and re-equipped with missiles.
Donald Trump last week dubbed the PM “a loser” to his friends as the Special Relationship took a sour turn – the US President was unhappy Britain over his initial refusal to let American pilots use British air bases to strike Tehran.
The HMS Dragon has a long history, dating back to the First Dragon built in Chatham in 1647, a 38-gun fourth rate frigate.
Now, the tenth iteration of the warship will be setting of for RAF Akrotiri, amidst an increasing threat to British military personnel.
Last year, the warship became the first British warship to destroy a missile travelling at supersonic speed during an exercise off Scotland.
Outside of her air defence role, she can also provide disaster relief and counter-narcotics boarding operations.
