UK weighs sending HMS Duncan to Cyprus after drone breach, French naval move

The British government is considering deploying a Royal Navy destroyer, HMS Duncan, to Cyprus to protect its bases after France announced plans to deploy its warships and anti-air defence systems to defend the island and British military facilities from potential Iranian attacks.

This comes after a hostile drone pierced through the air defences of RAF Akrotiri and crash landed on a runway resulting in minor damages on Sunday. The damages are said to be minimal and no casualties were reported.

The British Royal Navy destroyer, HMS Duncan, specialises in anti-drone operations and has recently shown its skills in a test exercise off the coast of Wales.

The vessel hosted a family day on Friday, and it remains unclear how ready the warship is to sail. The Type 45 destroyer travels at 30 knots (34.5mph) and would take around five to seven days to reach the eastern Mediterranean island from Portsmouth.

The intensified military movement comes amid the ongoing U.S.-Israel war against Iran. The Islamic Republic retaliated to the U.S.-Israeli joint military strikes, which resulted in the martyrdom of Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, with barrages of missiles toward Israel and U.S. military bases in the region.

Britain previously refused to allow its bases to be used for attacks on Iran; however, it has now authorised their use for collective defence.

A former UK defence attache to Moscow, John Foreman, has slammed the Prime Minister Keir Starmer for acting too late, saying, “That the UK is now ‘considering’ sending a destroyer to the eastern Mediterranean is a clear indication one should have been there already.”

The Cypriot government has also asked German Chancellor Friedrich Merz for military support to protect the island.

There’s no official confirmation about the deployment of HMS Duncan to Cyprus yet.