British Prime Minister Keir Starmer announced on Tuesday that Britain is sending a warship and two Royal Navy Wildcat helicopters to Cyprus after an Iranian drone struck Britain’s Royal Air Force (RAF) base at Akrotiri on the eastern Mediterranean island on Monday morning.
On a social media afterStarmer said he has spoken to the president of Cyprus and that Britain is deploying helicopters with counter-drone capabilities and the air defense destroyer HMS Dragon in the region.
“The UK is fully committed to the security of Cyprus and the British military stationed there,” he wrote in the post. “We will continue our defensive operations… We will always act in the interests of Britain and our allies.”
The attack, which came days after Starmer reaffirmed his country’s non-involvement, hit a runway at the air base just after midnight on Monday morning.
HMS Dragon moored at the Royal Navy Dockyard in Portsmouth, England on October 28, 2024. Keir Starmer confirmed on Tuesday, March 3, 2026 that the Dragon will be deployed to Cyprus. (Matt Cardy/Getty Images)
Although no injuries were reported, minor damage was reported.
British Defense Secretary John Healey said the country is “moving quickly” to further strengthen its defensive presence in the eastern Mediterranean.
“HMS Dragon brings world-class air defense capabilities, and our Wildcat helicopters are armed with Martlet missiles to counter the growing drone threat,” Healey wrote in a statement. “I am deeply proud of the professionalism and courage of our military personnel who have successfully taken action across the region in recent days to protect our allies and defend British interests.”
The HMS Dragon, a Type 45 destroyer, will boost Britain’s ability to detect, track and destroy aerial threats – including drones.
The ship is equipped with the world-leading Sea Viper missile system, which can launch eight missiles in less than 10 seconds and guide up to sixteen missiles simultaneously.
The deployment comes as British forces successfully shot down several drones in the region in the past 24 hours.
RAF F-35B jets shot down drones over Jordan – the first time an RAF F-35 has destroyed a target on operations – supported by Typhoon jets and a Voyager tanker aircraft.
A British counter-drone unit neutralized drones in Iraqi airspace heading towards coalition forces, while an RAF Typhoon operating with the joint UK-Qatar 12 Squadron shot down an Iranian one-way drone targeting Qatar using an air-to-air missile on Monday.
Police officers stand guard outside the RAF Akrotiri base on January 14, 2024, near Limassol, Cyprus. An Iranian-made drone hit the base on Monday, March 2, 2026, causing minimal damage and no injuries amid the heightened tensions. (Iakovos Hatzistavrou/AFP via Getty Images)
Before the attack on Cyprus, Starmer released a video explaining that Iran was launching sustained attacks across the region, targeting countries that did not attack them.
“They have hit airports and hotels where British citizens are staying. This is clearly a dangerous situation,” Starmer said. “We have at least 200,000 British citizens in the region. Residents, families on holiday and people passing through. I am asking all our people in the region to register your presence. And follow travel advice from overseas offices. I know this is a very worrying time, and we will continue to do all we can to support you.”
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He added that British forces are also “in danger”, noting that Iran struck a military base in Bahrain on Saturday and “narrowly missed British personnel”.
“The death of the supreme leader will not stop Iran from launching these attacks,” Starmer said. “Their approach is becoming even more reckless and dangerous to civilians. Our decision that Britain would not be involved in the attacks on Iran was deliberate. Not least because we believe that the best way forward for the region and for the world is a negotiated solution – an agreement in which Iran agrees to give up all aspirations to develop a nuclear weapon – but Iran is nevertheless harming British interests and putting the British people, along with our allies across the region, in grave danger. That is the situation we face face today.”
He said partners in the Gulf asked them to “do more” to defend them, leading to a decision to allow the US to use British air bases for targeted attacks on Iranian missile launchers and storage depots.
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer has strengthened the military presence in Cyprus after an Iranian drone attack early Monday. (Kin Cheung/Pool/AFP via Getty Images)
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“We have British jets in the skies as part of coordinated defensive operations, which have already successfully intercepted Iranian attacks. But the only way to stop the threat is to destroy the missiles at the source – at their storage depots or the launchers used to fire the missiles,” Starmer said. “The basis of our decision is the collective self-defence of old friends and allies, and the protection of British lives… We will not join these attacks, but we will continue our defensive actions in the region.”
“I want to be very clear: We all remember the mistakes of Iraq, and we have learned those lessons,” he continued. “We were not involved in the initial attacks on Iran, and we will not engage in offensive action now. But Iran is pursuing a scorched earth strategy. So we support the collective self-defence of our allies and our people in the region because that is our duty to the British people. It is the best way to remove the urgent threat and prevent the situation from spiraling further out of control. This is the British government protecting British interests and British lives.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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