UK deploying warship, helicopters to Cyprus after drone strike

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer announced Tuesday that the United Kingdom is sending a warship and 2 Royal Navy Wildcat helicopters to Cyprus aft an Iranian drone deed the British Royal Air Force (RAF) basal of Akrotiri Monday greeting connected the eastbound Mediterranean island.

In a societal media post, Starmer said helium spoke with the president of Cyprus, and the U.K. is deploying helicopters with counter-drone capabilities and the air-defense destroyer HMS Dragon to the region.

"The UK is afloat committed to the information of Cyprus and British subject unit based there," helium wrote successful the post. "We’re continuing our antiaircraft operations… We volition ever enactment successful the involvement of the UK and our allies."

The strike, which came days aft Starmer reaffirmed his state was not progressive successful the conflict, deed a runway astatine the aerial basal conscionable aft midnight Monday morning.

The Type 45 destroyer HMS Dragon is seen moored successful the Royal Navy Dockyard connected Oct. 28, 2024, successful Portsmouth, England. Keir Starmer confirmed Tuesday, March 3, 2026, that the HMS Dragon volition beryllium deployed to Cyprus. (Matt Cardy/Getty Images)

While determination were nary injuries, insignificant harm was reported.

British Defense Secretary John Healey said the state is "moving quickly" to further reenforce its antiaircraft beingness successful the Eastern Mediterranean.

"HMS Dragon brings world-class aerial defence capability, and our Wildcat helicopters are equipped with Martlet missiles to antagonistic the increasing drone threat," Healey wrote successful a statement. "I americium profoundly arrogant of the professionalism and bravery of our Armed Forces unit who have, successful caller days, successfully taken enactment crossed the portion to support our allies and support British interests."

The HMS Dragon, a benignant 45 destroyer, volition fortify the U.K.’s quality to detect, way and destruct aerial threats — including drones.

The vessel is fitted with the world-leading Sea Viper rocket system, which tin motorboat 8 missiles successful nether 10 seconds and usher up to 16 missiles simultaneously. 

The deployment comes arsenic the British equipped forces successfully changeable down aggregate drones crossed the portion implicit the past 24 hours.

RAF F-35B jets changeable down drones implicit Jordan — the archetypal clip an RAF F-35 has destroyed a people connected operations — supported by Typhoon jets and a Voyager tanker aircraft. 

A British counter-drone portion neutralized drones successful Iraqi airspace heading towards Coalition forces, portion an RAF Typhoon operating with the associated UK-Qatar 12 Squadron changeable down an Iranian one-way onslaught drone directed astatine Qatar utilizing an air-to-air rocket connected Monday.

Police officers basal defender extracurricular RAF Akrotiri basal connected Jan. 14, 2024, adjacent Limassol, Cyprus. An Iranian-made drone deed the basal connected Monday, March 2, 2026, causing minimal harm and nary injuries amid heightened tensions. (Iakovos Hatzistavrou/AFP via Getty Images)

Prior to the onslaught successful Cyprus, Starmer released a video explaining that Iran launched sustained attacks crossed the region, connected countries that did not onslaught them. 

"They've deed airports and hotels wherever British citizens are staying. This is intelligibly a unsafe situation," Starmer said. "We person astatine slightest 200,000 British citizens successful the region. Residents, families connected vacation and those successful transit. I inquire each our radical successful the portion to delight registry your presence. And travel overseas bureau question advice. I cognize this is simply a profoundly worrying time, and we volition proceed to bash each we tin to enactment you."

GULF STATES CONDEMN IRANIAN RETALIATORY STRIKES ON THEIR TERRITORIES FOLLOWING US-ISRAELI OPERATION

He added that the British Armed Forces are besides "at risk," noting Iran deed a subject basal Saturday successful Bahrain, "narrowly missing British personnel." 

"The decease of the ultimate person volition not halt Iran from launching these strikes," Starmer said. "Their attack is becoming adjacent much reckless and much unsafe to civilians. Our determination that the UK would not beryllium progressive with the strikes connected Iran was deliberate. Not slightest due to the fact that we judge that the champion mode guardant for the portion and for the satellite is simply a negotiated colony — 1 successful which Iran agrees to springiness up immoderate aspirations to make a atomic limb — but Iran is striking British interests nonetheless, and putting British radical astatine immense risk, on with our allies crossed the region. That is the concern we look today."

He said partners successful the Gulf asked them to "do more" to support them, prompting a determination to let the U.S. to usage British aerial bases for targeted strikes against Iranian rocket launchers and retention depots.

Britain's Prime Minister Keir Starmer amped up the subject beingness successful Cyprus pursuing an Iranian drone onslaught aboriginal Monday. (Kin Cheung / POOL / AFP via Getty Images)

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"We person British jets successful the aerial arsenic portion of coordinated antiaircraft operations, which person already successfully intercepted Iranian strikes. But the lone mode to halt the menace is to destruct the missiles astatine root — successful their retention depots oregon the launchers which are utilized to occurrence the missiles," Starmer said. "The ground of our determination is the corporate self-defense of long-standing friends and allies, and protecting British lives… We are not joining these strikes, but we volition proceed with our antiaircraft actions successful the region."

"I privation to beryllium precise clear: We each retrieve the mistakes of Iraq, and we person learned those lessons," helium continued. "We were not progressive successful the archetypal strikes connected Iran, and we volition not articulation violative enactment now. But Iran is pursuing a scorched world strategy. So we are supporting the corporate self-defense of our allies and our radical successful the portion due to the fact that that is our work to the British people. It is the champion mode to destruct the urgent menace and forestall the concern spiraling further. This is the British authorities protecting British interests and British lives."

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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