Royal Navy Type 45 destroyer HMS Dragon is being sent to the Middle East ready to join an international mission to safeguard shipping in the Strait of Hormuz.
The U.K. Ministry of Defence confirmed at the weekend that the warship will “pre-position” in the region, ready to join the British- and French-led initiative, contingent on hostilities ending between Iran and US-Israeli forces.
The full press statement read: “We can confirm that HMS Dragon will deploy to the Middle East to pre-position ahead of any future multinational mission to protect international shipping when conditions allow them to transit the Strait of Hormuz.
“The pre-positioning of HMS Dragon is part of prudent planning that will ensure that the UK is ready, as part of a multinational coalition jointly led by the UK and France, to secure the strait, when conditions allow.”
The security operation jointly proposed by British PM Sir Keir Starmer and French president Emmanuel Macron would potentially see a coalition of about a dozen nations combining military resources to ensure freedom of navigation in the strait, working in coordination with Iran.
The strait, currently subject to a naval blockade as a result of the conflict between Iran and America and Israel, is a key global route for oil and gas supplies, as well as other vital items such as fertiliser.
The MoD has confirmed that previous “minor technical issues” with HMS Dragon’s water systems, which had required it to dock in April, have been fully rectified following rigorous testing off Crete.
A large number of French Navy assets have already sailed into the Middle East, with the Charles de Gaulle carrier strike group (CSG) transiting the Suez Canal and entering the Red Sea last week.
Other ships making up that CSG include the French Horizon-class air defence frigate Chevalier Paul and FREMM multirole frigate Alsace, Italian FREMM frigate Alpinoi, and the Royal Netherlands Navy frigate HNLMS Evertsen. The CSG is also usually accompanied by a traditionally unidentified French nuclear attack submarine (SSN).
- You can read the latest updates from the MoD on the U.K. Government website